Period products at work: the federal rule in Canada

Some workplaces in Canada must put period products in the washroom. Most do not have to. The difference is which law covers the workplace. This Column reads one federal rule closely. It quotes the law rather than retelling it, because the exact words matter. It covers what the rule requires, who it reaches, what one province has added, what workers describe, and the steps the law sets out when something is missing.

What the rule says

The rule came into force on 15 December 2023. The same duty was added to four other sets of federal regulations: aviation, maritime, oil and gas, and on board trains. On trains, the disposal container may be “a covered container or bag that is impervious to moisture”. On ships, it is “a covered container lined with a bag that is impervious to moisture”.

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) explains the rule on its website. It says: “The regulations specify that menstrual products must be in all toilet rooms, regardless of their marked genders.” It defines a toilet room as “a room containing a toilet or urinal”.

A note on words: the law says “menstrual pads”, and one Ontario release is titled for “women”. We keep the law’s and the government’s words so we report them accurately. In our own words, we say “period pads”. The Reading Room is for everyone who menstruates.

What goes in the washroom

ESDC’s definition: “‘Menstrual product’ means tampons and menstrual pads.” Employers may also consider reusable products. But ESDC says: “Providing reusable products would not replace the need to provide tampons and pads.”

Who chooses? ESDC says: “The choice of menstrual products is the responsibility of employers. While it’s not mandatory to consult employees, it’s encouraged to do so.” Its list of things to consider includes “body sizes and menstrual flow”, “product types, sizes, and absorbency”, “scent free options” and “cultural values, beliefs, and experience with menstrual product use”.

On restocking, ESDC suggests that products “follow the toilet paper guideline: if toilet paper is restocked, then menstrual products should be restocked”. That is guidance, not a line in the regulation.

Tampons. ESDC calls a tampon “a single-use disposable product… inserted into the vagina… with or without an applicator”. It adds: “In Canada, tampons are regulated as medical devices by Health Canada.”

Why the government made the rule. In its own words, access “will reduce the medical and psychological impacts of: reusing products · using products for longer than indicated · not using any products at all”. Its news release says workers “would no longer have to turn to unsuitable solutions, such as extending the use of menstrual products beyond the recommended time frame or avoiding work altogether.”

Who it covers, and who it doesn’t

The rule covers federally regulated workplaces. The government’s list includes, in its own words:

• “air transportation, including airlines, airports…”;
• “banks”;
• “most federal Crown corporations, for example, Canada Post Corporation”;
• “port services, marine shipping, ferries…”;
• “postal and courier services”;
• “radio and television broadcasting”;
• “railways that cross provincial or international borders…”;
• “road transportation services, including trucks and buses, that cross provincial or international borders”;
• “telecommunications”;
• “First Nations band councils and Indigenous self-governments (certain activities)”;
• “the federal public service” and “Parliament”.

The full list is on the government’s page, linked in the sources.

The government puts a number on it: “nearly half a million workers who may require menstrual products during their workdays, including cisgender women, non-binary individuals, transgender men, and intersex individuals.”

Most workplaces are not on that list. Most are regulated by a province or territory. For those, the government says: “consult the employment standards for your province or territory”. The same page lists “Private-sector firms and municipalities in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (part I of the Code only)”. The period-product rule is in regulations made under Part II of the Code, and Part II does not apply to those private-sector employers.

Where the rule applies at work. ESDC’s test is whether “the employer can grant or deny access to the workplace.” It says client sites and working from home “aren’t workplaces controlled by the employer”. For people who drive for work, it says products “could be offered in a kit in the vehicle”. That is an option, not a requirement.

Different rules in the provinces

When it proposed the change, Ontario said: “If passed, Ontario will be the first province in Canada to have this policy.”

“None found yet” means the Editor did not find one. It does not mean none exists. Free products at school and in the community are in “Free period products in Canada, by province and program”.

What workers describe

These are workers’ accounts from public forums. They are not facts about any employer or department.

• Some federal public servants say supplies run out fast in small offices.
• Some find the free products low quality and bring their own.
• Some say a desk stash is harder to keep with shared desks.
• Some report that colleagues objected, and some describe vandalism.
• Some describe the products as a useful emergency backup.
• With more office days in 2026, some federal staff describe workplace accommodations backed by a doctor’s note. Some say unions are bargaining for leave. Leave and accommodation are outside this rule.
• On Ontario construction sites, some commenters recall employers once giving the lack of women’s washrooms as a reason not to hire women. A contractor who works alone describes keeping period pads in the truck.

Raising it at work: the Code’s steps

The Canada Labour Code, Part II, sets out steps. Here they are in the Code’s words.

1. An employee who believes “on reasonable grounds that there has been a contravention of this Part” makes a complaint “to the employee’s supervisor”, before most other steps under Part II.
2. “The complaint may be made orally or in writing.”
3. The employee and the supervisor “shall try to resolve the complaint between themselves as soon as possible.”
4. If it is not resolved, it may go “to a chairperson of the work place committee or to the health and safety representative to be investigated jointly”.
5. In the circumstances the Code lists, the complaint may then be referred “to the Head”, which the Code defines as “the Head of Compliance and Enforcement”.

The Code also says, in section 147: “No employer shall dismiss, suspend, lay off or demote an employee… or take any disciplinary action against or threaten to take any such action against an employee because the employee… has sought the enforcement of any of the provisions of this Part.”

ESDC says that “For more information or questions, workplace parties can contact the Labour Program at 1-800-641-4049”.

This Column describes the Code’s steps. It does not tell anyone what to do in their own situation.

What this is not

This Column quotes federal and Ontario law and government pages, dated, in their own words. It is general information, not legal advice. It does not say whether any workplace is following the rule, and it does not comment on the rule itself. For your own situation, the federal Labour Program, your province’s or territory’s occupational health and safety or employment standards office, or a lawyer or legal clinic can help. Laws change; check the “current to” dates in the sources.