Canadian military ordered hate crime investigation into vandalism of tampon dispensers in men's bathrooms at military bases

Canadian military officials directed the Canadian Armed Forces' hate crimes and extremism units to investigate reports that soldiers had been vandalizing feminine hygiene product dispensers installed in male restrooms. However, the investigation units declined the requests, citing a lack of evidence.

Documents obtained by True North show that military superiors were frantically trying to determine the reason for the disappearance of tampons and pads that were placed in male washrooms. Reports of the alleged vandalism were not confined to one military base, as per the documents, which stated that there were numerous complaints made at the Denison Armory in Toronto and bases in Petawara, Calgary, and Ottawa.

The controversy erupted in Dec. 2023 following a directive from Prime Minster Trudeau's Liberal government, which mandated that military bases provide reproductive products in men's washrooms as part of a broader inclusivity initiative. The National Investigation Service and the specialized Hate Crimes, Extremism, Drugs, and Gang Enforcement unit turned down the requests to investigate.

Initially, it was believed that the tampons vanishing from men's washrooms were disappearing as a result of "high demand." In an internal email dated January 26, 2024, the building maintenance managers at CFB Calgary reported that the tampon supply at Waters was nearly depleted as a result of the high demand in the men's washrooms.

Operations officer Shaun Delamere, with the CAF real operations unit in West Calgary, noted that tampons and pads were disappearing at such a rate that sparked his attention. "I have confirmed with the contractor that the (tampon) bin in the second-floor men's room has been filled twice today," Delamere wrote on Jan. 29, 2024, as reported by the paper.

ATCO Facility Solutions wrote to military staff that its workers were struggling to keep up with stocking the feminine hygiene products. "Gentlemen, I have no idea what is going on at Waters, but it seems someone may be abusing the provision of female products. The container was completely restocked this morning and is now empty again, as you will see from Bee Clean below," an employee at the company wrote in an email.
 

"I have also asked them to use stock from other locations with lower usage to backfill the Waters Building," they added. "However, if this consumption rate continues, I will have no choice but to submit an AWR to replace these feminine hygiene products at high-use locations, like the men's washroom at Waters Building."

Other bases identified the source of the issue: vandalism and soldiers discarding the tampons in the trash. This promoted Anthony Leano, coordinator for the Defence Construction Canada Facilities Management, to suspend the restocking of the dispensers. At CFB Gagetown in Ottawa, Sgt. Major Brian Standing called the vandalism "unacceptable" in a Jan. 10, 2024 email obtained by the publication.

Incidents persisted at these bases, and some even led to official complaints of larceny and vandalism that were reported to the military police for intervention. The chief military police agency reviewed a number of complaints, however, the agency determined that the incidents did not fall within the organization's mandate to initiate an official investigation.