Saturday March 25, 2023 | COLWOOD, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Another whack at ending period poverty took place at The Q Centre this evening in Colwood.
Local MLA Mitzi Dean (Esquimalt-Metchosin) addressed media with sports and recreation leadership, and paperwork was signed with a promise to provide free menstrual products in washrooms at The Q Centre arena and Westshore Parks and Recreation (Juan de Fuca Arena).
This was done in conjunction with the final Victoria Grizzlies game of the season.
Signing on to the United Way’s Period Promise on site this evening were The Victoria Grizzlies (Junior A Ice Hockey), Westshore Wolves (Junior B Ice Hockey), and West Shore Parks and Recreation, with signing expected to come later on by the Victoria Shamrocks and the City of Colwood.
Attending at the podium with Mitzi Dean were Ron Walchuk, Team Owner, Victoria Grizzlies; Byron Loucks, President, Victoria Grizzlies; Ian Birnie, Assistant General Manager, Westshore Wolves; Ron Dietrich, Operations Manager, Westshore Parks and Recreation; and Danella Parks, Director of Community Impact, United Way Vancouver Island.
Joining in for the outdoor photo op were two girls who play hockey in the Victoria region… Charley is 8 years old and Amelie is 12 years of age.
The idea behind providing free menstrual products in the women’s washrooms is to help girls and teens have full access to sports participation, events and school activities, leading to more active engagement in the community.
“Everyone here is committed to inclusivity in sports,” said MLA Dean this evening at the short outdoor media photo-op, in some nippy cold weather. She also mentioned the provincial goal to have menstrual products in all school bathrooms.
Sports leadership on board:
- Walchuk said the Grizzlies are committed to “being inclusive to all parts of society”.
- Birnie of the Westshore Wolves said “it’s a step in the right direction”.
- Dietrich said it’s about “removing barriers” and that the program aligns with providing “diverse and accessible sports and recreation opportunities for all west shore residents to experience health active lifestyles”. In the coming months, Westshore Parks and Recreation will be installing and stocking dispensers throughout their recreation site, including The Q Centre, said Dietrich.
Poverty reduction:
Not being able to access period supplies can negatively affect people’s ability to go about their day-to-day activities.
Announced back in May 2022 by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, a new task force backed by $750,000 in provincial funding was launched to support the Province’s goal to end period poverty and remove the stigma associated with menstruation.
One of the task force’s key goals is to develop partnerships with governments, Indigenous partners, businesses, communities and non-profit organizations to look at ways to understand and find solutions to period poverty. There is support for provision of free period products through the United Way British Columbia’s annual Period Promise campaign.
===== RELATED:
Support to host sport events to benefit BC athletes, tourism (Mar 27, 2023)
Two BC-funded sporting events in Colwood (Mar 13, 2023)
Athletes and tourism to benefit by BC event hosting support (Mar 12, 2023)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends is a professional news service covering news of the west shore of Greater Victoria on south Vancouver Island, as well as BC-wide and national issues. Editor and publisher Mary P Brooke launched Island Social Trends launched entirely online at islandsocialtrends.ca in mid-2020, in the footsteps of predecessor publications MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013) and West Shore Voice News (2014-2020).