The City of Burnaby is looking to join United Way’s Period Promise Campaign by providing menstrual products free of charge at some of its facilities.
A report to the city’s financial management committee recommends a pilot program that would see the city install 24 dispensers of tampons and sanitary pads in public bathrooms.
“Having access to menstrual products is essential for the health, well-being and full participation of persons who menstruate in society, however, if an individual is living in poverty, access to these essential products can be challenging,” the report says.
The city estimates installing the dispensers will cost about $12,000 but has not estimated the cost of maintaining and stocking them because it has never done something like this before.
That’s why city staff recommend starting with a six-month pilot program starting in March “to assess the full financial impact of this initiative,” the report says. If the pilot program is supported by council, the city will replace coin-operated menstrual product dispensers at 12 local facilities and install coin-free dispensers at six other facilities:
- Beresford warming centre
- Cameron Community Centre
- Edmonds Community Centre
- Eilleen Dailly Pool
- Bob Prittie Metrotown library branch
- Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
Once the city has a better idea of the costs involved with providing free menstrual products, it could install more dispensers in its facilities across the city, the report says.
The report notes, however, that outdoor public washrooms may not be a good place to install menstrual-product dispensers.
“Experience indicates that outdoor public washrooms are subject to higher incidents of vandalism due to the lack of on-site staffing,“ the report says.
The proposed pilot program comes in response to the United Way’s Period Promise Campaign, which calls on public institutions to remove financial barriers to menstrual products.
Burnaby would be joining New Westminster, Victoria, Coquitlam and Toronto, which have implemented similar pilot projects.
As of the end of 2019, all public schools in B.C. are required to provide free menstrual products for students.
If the finance committee approves of the pilot program at a Thursday meeting, the proposal will then come for a vote at a future council meeting.
