'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
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.