Birth control is now free to Manitobans without a drug plan, but the majority of international students remain excluded from coverage.
The province began providing free contraceptives to those without health insurance Tuesday but students from outside Canada are not eligible, a fact lamented by the University of Manitoba Students’ Union president.
“Often the international student community has to pick between their textbooks, putting food on the table, paying for rent and health care,” said Divya Sharma.
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When Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine announced in August that birth control would be free of charge for Manitobans, international students were not included.
UMSU provides menstrual products and other contraceptives to students, but Sharma says universal access to birth control shouldn’t be a worry for students.
“It’s not a leisure thing, it’s a human right that students deserve access to no matter what their status is,” Sharma said.
In August, the province said it would cover the full cost of about 60 commonly used prescription birth-control methods including the pill, intrauterine devices, hormone injections and implants at a cost of about $11 million a year.
The RRC Polytech Students’ Association automatically enrolls all international students in its health plan, which includes coverage for birth control. International students not covered by Manitoba Health pay $840 for 12-month insurance coverage.
Speaking as an international student herself, Red River students’ association president Angela Felipe said provincial coverage would help to ease stress during their stay in Canada.
“I truly believe that health care is a necessity that should be readily available to anyone, regardless of status,” Felipe said.
In 2018, the then-Tory government discontinued coverage for international students, which resulted in annual savings of $3.1 million.
Since then, foreign students studying in Manitoba have had to purchase private health insurance and be enrolled in qualifying programs and courses to be eligible.
After forming government in October, Premier Wab Kinew tasked Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable with restoring international student health care. In Kinew’s mandate letter to Cable, the premier wrote the NDP platform promised to make health-care better.
“It is my expectation that you deliver on the commitments that pertain to your ministry,” Kinew wrote.
In an emailed statement, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said those who don’t have health coverage can access free or low-cost birth control through post-secondary health centres, community health clinics or private health insurance.
UMSU has had several meetings with Cable and the NDP caucus about international student coverage and wider access to birth control for international students, Sharma said.
At RRC Polytech, Felipe says she will continue to advocate for its international student body.
“Holding on to the Manitoba NDP government’s promise to bring back the provincial health insurance coverage to international students has given me hope that in the near future, there will be changes that would make it easier for us to access health-care services here in our province,” Felipe said.
Cable’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
At an unrelated press conference Tuesday, Kinew said the province is looking at birth control and health coverage for international students, hinting an announcement could come soon.
As of December, there were 21,330 post-secondary international students in Manitoba.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
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