'A basic human right': Manitoba NDP promise free birth control if elected
The NDP are promising free birth control to Manitobans if they win the provincial election this fall.
NDP Leader Wab Kinew joined MLAs Uzoma Asagwara, Nahanni Fontaine, and dozens of NDP candidates at Scout Coffee & Tea, 1199 Rothesay Avenue, for Sunday's announcement.
If they form Manitoba's next provincial government, the NDP said it would implement universal coverage for prescription contraceptives across the province.
"Access to contraceptives is a basic human right, and should be easily accessible," said Fontaine, the NDP Spokesperson on Status of Women. “By providing free birth control and removing the financial barrier, we are taking a gendered and human rights approach to sexual and reproductive health care."
The plan would see the provincial government cover the full cost of dozens of commonly used birth-control methods, including oral contraceptives, copper and hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs), hormonal injections and the morning-after pill.
Currently, Manitoba Health covers contraceptive surgical procedures, such as vasectomies for men. Meanwhile, the cost of an IUD can be as much as $380, and birth control pills can cost a person $240 a year.
The NDP said many young Manitobans face barriers to accessing birth control, putting them at higher risk of unplanned pregnancy. Removing barriers will give women, trans men and non-binary people greater control of their lives, improve their health outcomes and reduce overall costs to the health care system.
“Manitobans deserve quality health care. They deserve health care that is there for them where and when they need it," said Asagwara, the NDP Spokesperson for Health. “That means not making choices between buying birth control or paying your hydro bill."
The NDP said the cost of implementing universal coverage of contraceptives would be $11 million a year.
Manitobans go to the polls to elect a new provincial government on Oct. 3, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.