'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 NEWS Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'