Lacking plans for barrier-free, 24/7 public washrooms, instances of public urination and defecation are slated to continue taking place in downtown Sudbury.
Greater Sudbury city council does not appear to be working toward fulfilling advocates’ push to create barrier-free public washrooms in the city’s downtown core.
Sudbury.com reached out to all 13 members of city council last week, but received responses from only four of them.
Those few who did respond included Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbée, Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin, Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent and Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre.
None of them pledged to work toward the creation of downtown washroom facilities.
Lapierre was the least committal, offering that he has no comment because he needs “to understand better what the expectations of the group are.”
As stated during Aug. 21 protest, advocates want barrier-free public washroom facilities in the city’s downtown core so people who are homeless do not need to urinate or defecate in public.
Parent said he did not intend on raising the issue, but that he will “remain focused on working with the mayor, council and staff on addressing the root cause of such issues which is homelessness and the housing affordability crisis.”
Fortin said she would not support a washroom facility due to “security, hygiene and biohazard reasons.”
“Sadly, all we would be creating is a private and unsafe injection site,” she said. “It seems to me that if 24/7 public bathrooms were a good idea they would already exist.”
Labbée was the most supportive of the idea, but said public washrooms would not be without their challenges.
Although the city used porta potties during the pandemic, she said they were accompanied by drug use and biohazards such as blood and bodily fluids.
“It's not just about providing washrooms, but how to keep anyone accessing them safe, clean and supervised,” she said.
“I am satisfied that the Community Services staff are diligently working to find a solution that would be safe for everyone. They have reached out to the improvement advisor from the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness to seek recommended solutions from other communities.”
In response to Sudbury.com’s inquiry, a city spokesperson noted that access to washroom facilities is a common point of discussion when meeting with service providers.
“We continue to work with our partners to identify and resolve challenges brought to our attention, including access to washroom facilities,” they said.
The city provides a list of washroom facilities for service providers to provide to people experiencing homelessness, which includes the following facilities:
- Samaritan Centre Drop-In: 1-4 p.m.
- Elgin St. Mission: 8-11 a.m. and 5:30-7 p.m. Monday to Friday, plus 10-11:30 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
- Blue Door Soup Kitchen: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday
- Elm Place (downtown mall): 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
- Transit Terminal: 7:45 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
- MacKenzie Library: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
- Tom Davies Square: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday
- SACY Youth Drop-in (age 25 and younger): 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
All of these locations have time restrictions and potential barriers. People can be banned from the transit terminal, for example, which is monitored by municipal security enforcement officers. This is also true of Tom Davies Square.
Elm Place is a private entity with security, and the multi-stall bathrooms are closed in favour of a single unit that must be opened by security. Some other locations are non-profits with their own sets of rules.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
