Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan – Malahat – Langford) tabled a bill in the House of Commons that was brought forward by local students, Isha Courty-Stephens and Hana Reid, through the Create Your Canada competition.
The bill would amend the Food and Drugs Act to make it so that all tampon ingredients must be labelled on the packaging. Currently Canada doesn’t require all the ingredients in menstrual products to be labelled, even though many tampon brands contain toxic ‘forever chemicals’.
“It’s great to see young people getting involved in politics and the decisions being made in government. I’m glad I get to be able to help encourage young people’s involvement, and turn their work into action,” said MacGregor. “It’s also important for Canadians to get the best information possible about their health, and this bill would give people just that. I also want to thank my colleague, Leah Gazan, MP for Winnipeg Centre and NDP critic for Women and Gender Equality, for seconding the bill.”
With many menstrual products containing traces of bleach and pesticides, and undisclosed carcinogens, they can result in long lasting health issues, including certain forms of cancer.
“It’s important that people can make informed decisions about their health – and the government needs to make sure that people can do just that,” added MacGregor. “The Liberals have a responsibility to hold companies that provide health products accountable to Canadians, which is why New Democrats believe in labeling products with more transparency to give Canadians more options.”
You can find the text of the bill here: C-366 (44-1) - LEGISinfo - Parliament of Canada