November 2, 2020
The GottaGo! Campaign is asking the City of Ottawa Mayor and Councillors to adopt a policy to include a network of safe, clean and accessible public toilets as part of essential public health infrastructure. The letter, co-signed by 29 organizations, associations, coalitions and individuals across the city, attests to the broad public support for this proposal.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear that public toilets are fundamentally a public health issue, while providing an unfiltered look into the highly inadequate situation of public toilets in Ottawa. Access to public toilets is a basic human rights and everyone needs a place “to go” with dignity. Other cities in Canada (Edmonton, Vancouver, Montreal, Nelson, Smithers and Victoria) offer models for how to do this. The City of Ottawa needs to provide safe, clean, and accessible public toilets to serve the needs of people and in particular the vulnerable populations. Relying on local businesses and coffee shops to fill the gaps is not a realistic expectation and, furthermore, it is not working.
We are asking the City of Ottawa Mayor and Councillors:
- to put up signage for existing public toilets (parks, public and commercial buildings) and make it available on the city’s website,
- to provide subsidies to businesses to open their toilets to the public (e.g. Nette Toilette, Germany, Community Toilet Scheme, UK and Highland Comfort Scheme, Scotland) and
- to install stand alone permanent public toilets in strategic locations where there are no nearby public toilets (for example: parks; Park and Ride locations; and high pedestrian traffic areas).
There is also the cost of not having public toilets. Many people hesitate to go outdoors risking their physical and mental wellbeing because of the lack of public toilets. There are also the ongoing costs of cleaning human waste in alleyways, streets and parking garages.
We urge the City of Ottawa Mayor and Councillors to take a much needed leadership role in making a network of public toilets part of our essential public health infrastructure. Such a policy is a most tangible way to show that Ottawa is indeed a world class, liveable city.
Co-signers of the letter:
- ACORN, Ottawa-Gatineau
- Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa (54 member organizations)
- Bank Street BIA
- Bike Ottawa
- Briargreen Community Association
- Byward Market BIA
- Cetretown Community Association
- City for All Women Initiative (CAWI)
- Coalition of Community Health and Resource Centres (13 community health centres)
- Council on Aging
- Councillor Catherine McKenney, Somerset Ward
- Crohns and Colitis, Ottawa
- Crystal Beach-Lakeview Community Association
- Ecology Ottawa
- Federation of Citizens’ Associations (136 member associations + 2 civic associations)
- Glebe Annex Community Association
- Glebe Community Association
- Healthy Transportation Coalition
- Heron Park Community Association
- Joel Harden, MPP, Ottawa Centre
- Katimavik-Hazeldean Community Association
- Lowertown Community Association
- Manotick BIA
- Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition (16 aboriginal organizations)
- Ottawa Disability Coalition (18 member organizations)
- Shepherds of Good Hope
- Social Planning Council of Ottawa
- Somerset West Community Health Centre
- The Well
For more information, contact GottaGo!:
Email| [email protected]
Twitter & Facebook| @GottaGoCampaign
www.ottawapublictoilets.ca
