Facts:

There are no public washrooms currently open in several T.O. neighbourhoods.

Even before the pandemic, the few public washrooms in T.O. are only located in some parks, public libraries, and a handful of subway stations.

Problem definition:

It is reasonable to say that we do not have enough public washrooms in our city. Since, there is evidence that due to the lack of public washrooms, some people stay close to home, essential workers end their shifts early, some people dehydrate themselves, and others have no choice but to find a tree in a park or an inconspicuous corner (refer to the book from Lezlie Lowe, No place to go : how public toilets fail our private needs ).

Scope of the problem:

While some argue, don't coffee shops provide public washrooms? Note, Tim Horton’s and Starbucks are not public washrooms they are for customers. Some people might treat them as public access washrooms, but they can be closed, or the staff can deny service to noncustomers. Some groups of people never use these private washrooms for a variety of reasons e.g. some visible minority groups would never use a Starbucks washroom without paying, out of concern that they might be targeted due to their appearance and asked by staff to pay for something (note: it’s a serious concern since this targeting has actually happened).

The lack of public accessible washrooms affects certain groups of people more: those that travel further away from their home, essential workers, people who use a stroller or wheelchair, parents with small children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with a health condition, etc. Consequently, the lack of accessible public washrooms is an equity issue, which impacts sanitation, health, hygiene, and the dignity of people.

Action:

The City of Ottawa is already investing in accessible public washrooms including ones that have self-cleaning technology (similar to the Sanisette's in France and the UK ).

This petition calls for the City of T.O. to adopt a program similar to Ottawa's and start immediately the construction and implementation of clean accessible public washrooms throughout all the neighbourhoods in this city.

Photo by Agateller at English Wikipedia

Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/