Free feminine hygiene products are now available at two City facilities in St. Catharines.
It's all part of a pilot project approved by City Council in September of 2019, after a study indicated 34 per cent of women and girls in Canada have had to regularly or occasionally sacrifice something else within their budget in order to afford those kinds of products.
Dispensers have been installed in two women’s washrooms and two accessible washrooms at Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre and two washrooms and the women’s change room and universal change room at the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre.
“Access to free hygienic products is an issue of equity,” said Mayor Walter Sendzik. “Ensuring that our facilities and programming are accessible means working to overcome all potential barriers facing people who use the City’s services and programs.”
The motion approved by Council also encouraged other municipalities in the province, as well as school boards, to start up similar initiatives at facilities.
The pilot project will run for six months and will be used to assess the extent to which free products are used, the cost of the service and the logistics involved with offering the products