Canada: Employers In Federally Regulated Workplaces Will Soon Be Required To Provide Menstrual Products – Littler – Canada

Canada’s Regulation SOR/2023-78 (Regulation), which
comes into force on December 15, 2023, will require employers to
provide free menstrual products for employees’ use in each
toilet room in federally regulated workplaces.

The Regulation will amend the sanitation provisions of the
following occupational health and safety regulations under the
Canada Labour Code:

The main objective of the amendments is to better protect the
physical and psychological health and safety risks for menstruating
employees.

The Regulation requires employers under federal jurisdiction
to:

• Provide menstrual products, including clean and hygienic
  tampons and menstrual pads, for the use of employees in each toilet
  room in workplaces controlled by them;




• Provide menstrual products in another location in the same
  workplace when it is not feasible to provide them in a toilet room,
  provided the location is accessible by employees at all times and
  offers a reasonable amount of privacy; and




• Ensure that a covered container for the disposal of menstrual
  products is provided in each toilet compartment.

To ensure these requirements are enforceable through
administrative monetary penalties (AMPs), consequential amendments
will be made to the Administrative Monetary Penalties (Canada
Labour Code) Regulations (AMPs Regulations).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.