This has been a longstanding argument of government critics. When a similar bill was brought to the floor in 2004, Member of Parliament Judy Wasylycia-Leis said, “The GST on tampons and sanitary napkins amounts to gender-based taxation. The taxing of essential and necessary products used exclusively by women is unfair and discriminatory. It unfairly disadvantages women (7) financially, solely because of our reproductive role. The bill would benefit all Canadian women at some point in their lives and would be of particular value to lower income women.