Some employers in favour, some say government overreach
The provincial NDP government announced last week it’s making it mandatory for employers in Manitoba to provide free tampons and pads to all workers who menstruate.
Manitoba will be the first province in Canada to require employers to pick up the tab for the cost of menstrual products to ensure workers have access to “basic necessities” while on the job.
“These changes are about dignity and fairness at work. No one should have to worry about access to basic menstrual products while they are doing their job,” said provincial labour and immigration minister Malaya Marcelino in a March 9 news release. “Periods are a normal part of life and workplaces should reflect that reality by making sure workers have what they need.”
In addition to menstrual products, an employer “must provide a covered container for the disposal of menstrual products” near each toilet in a washroom.
The new rule comes into effect on Sept. 1.
The government amended the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) regulation after a five-year review, which was completed in January by the Workplace Safety and Health Review Committee. The review also recommends dropping the word feminine from menstrual products and providing products to genders rather than to just two sexes.
Federally regulated employers are already mandated to provide free menstrual products to people who menstruate, regardless of the gender they identify with.
Just as corporate supermarkets have priced some food items beyond many consumers’ ability to pay, forcing them to turn to food banks for help, as well as engaging in unfair real estate practices, the manufacturers of menstrual products have set price points beyond the financial means of many people who menstruate, forcing them into “period poverty.”
The federal department of Women and Gender Equality Canada says 17 per cent of Canadians who menstruate have experienced period poverty, meaning they couldn’t afford the products they needed. For those in lower income households, that number rises to 25 per cent.
Some people may switch to lower priced alternatives such as menstrual cups or reusable period underwear, but others who can’t afford menstrual products might not attend school, work or social events.
Karen Bowman, executive director of the Gimli-based Evergreen Basic Needs (EBN) store and food bank, said she applauds the government for addressing the needs of people who can’t afford menstrual products.
The charity’s staff and volunteers have long been stocking their washroom with menstrual products for the benefit of all who work at EBN, she said. And to be clear, EBN also receives public donations of menstrual products, but those are distributed exclusively to food bank clients.
Whether or not employee-provision of products is allowed under the government’s menstrual-product directive is unclear, she said. Nevertheless, EBN would “foot the bill” for pads and tampons for its staff and volunteers if necessary.
“It wouldn’t be a hardship. It would fall under our personal hygiene [budget] line that we already have. We have a first aid kit and an eyewash station and other items for our staff,” said Bowman. “I think the spirit of this bill is that the menstrual items are provided. And if we’re providing them, it shouldn’t matter if they’re donated by staff or purchased. That’s my opinion. If we’re told differently, we’ll abide by the rules the government has.”
Bowman said she thinks it’s a “good idea” for employers to provide menstrual products as this “helps to lower the cost of living for a part of our population.”
She doesn’t see it becoming a “huge expense” for smaller workplaces to shoulder, she said, but for larger businesses with lots of employees — say the size of Walmart — it might entail more of an expense.
To soften the impact on businesses that will feel the pinch of having to outlay funds for menstrual products, she said the provincial government might perhaps want to consider some sort of incentive.
“When a government comes out with something that will cost businesses money, they should offer something to help mitigate that cost, whether it’s a tax incentive or a credit system of some sort,” said Bowman. “For instance, let’s say your company spends $1,000 on hygiene products over the course of a year and you can get maybe $250 back through a tax break. I think something like that would make the pill easier to swallow for some of the larger companies.”
Pad and tampon manufacturing is a highly lucrative industry. For instance, Procter & Gamble, which makes Always pads and Tampax tampons, saw net sales of over $20.3 billion in its “baby, feminine and family care” line in 2024, according to the company’s annual report. Always and Tampax brands command 25 per cent of the global market share. The company’s total net sales were $84 billion.
An Interlake business owner with more than 10 staff said the government’s announcement last week was the first time she said she heard of the directive, and she thinks the government should have first consulted with the business community before going ahead and amending the WSH act.
The entrepreneur, who’s located on the west side of the Interlake, does not want to be identified as she feels the issue could polarize her customers and some employees.
The financial impact on her business would be fairly minor, she said, as she currently has a limited number of menstruating employees. And her staff bring in various menstrual products and leave them in a drawer in the women’s washroom for anyone to use.
She said providing toilet paper and soap makes sense under workplace safety rules, but menstrual products should remain optional because she doesn’t view them as a health and safety issue.
Nor should the province be making Manitoba employers assume higher operating costs because a free-market product is priced too highly for some people who menstruate.
“This is over the top,” said the entrepreneur. “I feel the province is micromanaging how businesses operate.”
For employers with a good proportion of menstruating staff, the mandate will cost them money, she said.
And there’s a potential for an invasion of “period privacy” should the more “receptive” employers ask their staff what products work best for them.
She cited the government’s FAQ document, which states employers have to provide one type of pad and one type of tampon. But that “one-size-fits-all” approach won’t necessarily work in every workplace. She’s aware that the menstruating employees in her workplace have different product needs because their menstrual cycles are different.
“Are we going to ask employees what brand they’d like, do they have a heavy or light flow, and what size pad they need? If an employer buys only one type of product to meet the WSH rule, some employees might not use it because it won’t meet their needs,” said the entrepreneur.
As part of the new mandate, the news release states the WSH branch will be conducting menstrual-product compliance checks in workplaces.
The entrepreneur said that’s not a good use of WSH staff time as they “have a job to do.”
A potentially irksome issue employers may have to address further down the line is theft. Because menstrual products are so expensive for some people, the temptation to steal may arise.
“Who’s to stop employees from taking products home for their children or relatives?” said the entreprenuer. “And what about employees that work from home? Do employers have to provide for them as well?”
Samantha Hampton, who owns the Shoreline Restaurant in Steep Rock in the RM of Grahamdale and is also president of the Gimli Chamber of Commerce, said providing menstrual products is “part of a broader conversation” about treating basic health needs the same way we treat other essentials in washrooms.
She’s heard mixed feelings about the government’s new requirement, but she said the overall consensus seems to be that the cost will be relatively small.
“The government has estimated it at around $10 to $25 per employee per year, which for many businesses isn’t a large expense if the outcome is that staff feel they have what they need at work,” said Hampton.
She said there are moments when having menstrual supplies available “makes a difference.”
With regard to a potential for theft, Hampton said she feels she’s hired people who “respect their workplace and won’t abuse” a system that’s meant to support everyone.
“Like many workplace policies, the key will be implementing it in a practical way so businesses and employees alike benefit from it,” she said.
Workplaces with no menstruating employees cannot opt-out of purchasing menstrual products and used-product containers, according to the government’s FAQ. It’s unclear why a workplace made up of employees who don’t menstruate would be required to have them on hand.
Commercial fisher Bill Buckels said he has no employees in his workplace, which is either the ice or a skiff on Lake Winnipeg. But if he did have either menstruous or non-menstruous employees, he assumes he’d have to comply with the government’s mandate and purchase tampons and pads for them.
“How about we just buy every hygiene product for everybody — including Depends for seniors who work using provincial funds?” he said. “That would be fair. Or let’s have a provincial drug plan for these hygienic supplies. That would probably be a better and more democratic and inclusive plan than this vertical solution, which sounds like a union contract being shoved down the throats of independent businesses.”
The Express reached out to the Lakeshore School Division and the Evergreen School Division — workplaces with a good number of staff — for their thoughts on the new directive, including how they’d identify the number of staff who menstruate and how the divisions would pay for the products.
“We haven’t received any direction on this yet, so I’m not in a position to be able to answer your questions,” said ESD Supt. Scott Hill, who added that when they learn more, they’ll be able to speak to the issue.
Lakeshore didn’t respond.
The Express asked the provincial department of labour and immigration why Manitoba businesses have to shoulder the cost of products that pad- and tampon-making companies have priced beyond the means of many Manitobans, how it’s defining “Manitoba employers,” whether it’s considering a tax-break for employers to partially offset the cost of the mandatory requirement, and how often menstrual-product-compliance inspections will be carried out, among a number of other questions.
“Like other employers, the province is working through its implementation plans for this update to the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation,” said a spokesperson. “The Workplace Safety and Health Branch will enforce compliance through existing workplace inspections. The branch conducts investigations of workplaces in Manitoba, including proactive inspection activities and in response to complaints.”
The spokesperson declined to say how many menstruating employees the Government of Manitoba has and how much it would cost to provide free pads and tampons to them. He referred the Express to cabinet communications to find out whether the government is considering a tax break.
As to how the government defines a Manitoba workplace, the spokesperson said:
“According to Statistics Canada, there are 43,792 businesses with employees in Manitoba and 94 per cent of workers are covered under provincial workplace safety and health requirements. Federally regulated industries are exempt from provincial regulations. The Canada Labour Code already includes requirements for federally regulated industries to provide menstrual products to workers.”
