Open Letter re: Access to Menstrual Products at Kenora Jail

June 2024

Hon. Michael Kerzner
Solicitor General of Ontario

Re: Menstrual Products at the Kenora Jail

As a collective of menstrual equity advocates across the nation, we have recently learned through Tania
Cameron that the female inmates at the Kenora Jail are having issues with timely access to quality
menstrual (Moon Time) products and access to a working toilet.

Many Nations across Turtle Island refer to their menstrual cycle as their Moon Time; a sacred and
honouring time that has been greatly impacted by colonial institutions.

We are seeing government reports of the increase in women being incarcerated in Canada, with
racialized women and Indigenous women in particular-making up the fastest growing segment of the
Canadian prison population (Department of Justice Canada, 2021). Knowing that access to menstrual
products is a nationwide issue in jails, the impact of this issue will continue to rise with those numbers,
continuing to leave racialized women as a ‘correctional afterthought’ in these facilities (Rouleau et al.,
2021). Access to adequate menstrual products and working toilets are human rights and necessary for
people to be treated with dignity. The lack of adequate and safe access to these products and facilities
unquestionably constitutes not only resolute discrimination on the basis of sex, but a systematic act of
anti-Indigenous racism exercised through the violation of the sacredness of Moon Time (Carney, 2022;
Hutchison, 2019).

Currently, inmates are offered a product called Egal. As a group of experts in this space, we understand
the importance of offering products that people are familiar with and have a standard of quality. The
quality of Egal, to our understanding and expertise, is subpar. There are different absorbency levels that
are required for different stages of one’s flow, and the liners that are offered are not adequate for a
heavier day. Tania Cameron notes, “The inmates that menstruate deserve the dignity of unrestricted
access to quality products.”

Substandard quality of Moon Time products in prisons has been proven to lead to unsafe practices with
products that are available. Research examples from Payneter (2021) and Khan and Oveisi (2020) discuss
how inmates have used subpar pads rolled up to create a tampon-like product that is then inserted into
the vagina, and wear menstrual products for far longer than what is considered safe, to make up for the
inadequate supply offered to inmates. The very dignity of inmates are at stake, not to mention the health and wellness concerns. Due to the gaps in access, individuals resort to dangerous/risky solutions, such as leaving in products longer than the recommended usage time leading to infections (Khan and Oveisi 2020).

The UN Rights to Water and Sanitation states that “The right to sanitation entitles everyone to have
physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, that is safe, hygienic, secure, and
socially and culturally acceptable and that provides privacy and ensures dignity.” Access for up to 24
inmates to one toilet that overflows, breaks down, and leaks is unacceptable and a violation of human
rights. The access to working toilets in the Kenora jail needs immediate attention. This is an unacceptable situation for anyone, and is a direct violation of the UN right to sanitation. This does not allow inmates to have dignity when using the washroom, and also does not support the health and
safety of inmates.

Moon Time is a sacred time. Colonization has had an enormous impact on the traditional knowledge of
Moon Time, and has also created stigma, miseducation, and a lack of understanding of certain ceremony, protocols and medicines that should be used during this time. It is incredibly important that the CO’s within Kenora jail learn about Moon Time, the cultural relevance of our connection to Grandmother Moon and the basics around Moon Time management.

Today, we join Tania’s call to action to be a voice for the menstruating inmates at the Kenora Jail. We
hereby call upon your office to:

• Ensure that each and every menstruator has unfettered access to adequate period products.
• Supply better quality products, including maxi pads and tampons with applicators.
• Allow menstruator inmates to have period underwear. Tania has a donor willing to send period
  underwear to inmates.
• Provide Moon Time education for CO’s.
• Expedite repairs to toilets; not having access to a working toilet adds to the period indignity that
  the menstruating inmates already face.

Respectfully,

cc. Hon. Sol Mamakwa, MPP for Keewetinoong
Ombudsman Ontario
Chelsea McGee, Director of Communications at SOLGEN