I was in a burger joint on Bank Street the other day, where I was surprised to see a sign indicating that not only was the washroom there not open to the non-paying public — an all-too-common restriction at retail businesses throughout Ottawa — but that even customers sitting down and eating at the restaurant were forbidden from using the facilities. Read MoreBruce Deachman: Almost five years since a splashy announcement of public toilet investments in Ottawa, I’m still holding my bladder.
Bruce Deachman: Almost five years since a splashy announcement of public toilet investments in Ottawa, I’m still holding my bladder.
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I was in a burger joint on Bank Street the other day, where I was surprised to see a sign indicating that not only was the washroom there not open to the non-paying public — an all-too-common restriction at retail businesses throughout Ottawa — but that even customers sitting down and eating at the restaurant were forbidden from using the facilities.
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I was about to rhetorically ask myself what this world is coming to when I thought, “Wait, shouldn’t there be some self-cleaning public toilets nearby outside?” That’s what this world is coming to, or at least what’s supposed to be coming to us.
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You may recall the announcement last year, on or around World Toilet Day (for real: it’s Nov. 19), that the city’s 2025 budget included $1 million to install two self-cleaning public toilets in Centretown. The locations hadn’t been determined, but it was expected they’d open sometime this year.
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The Evening Citizen
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At first blush, that seemed like a lot of money for a couple of bathrooms, self-cleaning or otherwise. But public washrooms are like hen’s teeth in downtown Ottawa, where they should be a basic measure of dignity and accessibility. Public washrooms, after all, allow everyone — including seniors, people with children, people living rough or just visiting — to move comfortably around the city and take part in its offerings. I sometimes tire of complaints that begin “You’d think that in a G8 capital…” but, honestly, you’d think that in a G8 capital people wouldn’t have to search out a parking-garage stairwell to relieve themselves with some measure of privacy.
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Other cities have figured this out. New Westminster, B.C., is in the midst of implementing its city-wide Toilet Strategy. Edmonton and Calgary have public washroom strategies, both employing attendants to ensure cleanliness and safety. Montreal runs a collaborative network of self-cleaning facilities and free accessible toilets known as P’tit Coin. Waterloo boasts a self-cleaning “Uptown Loo,” while Winnipeg’s Places to Go program provides accessible washrooms for unhoused residents.
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At the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa, executive director Kaite Burkholder Harris says Ottawa’s dearth of public toilets is an oft-heard refrain. “Everybody deserves a clean place to use the bathroom,” she says.
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Everyone agrees on the need. The city just needs to deliver.
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Last year’s announcement wasn’t the first time Ottawans (and visitors) were teased with such state-of-the-art facilities. In July 2021, federal, provincial and municipal officials announced $1.69 million in funding for ByWard Market infrastructure, including $740,000 for a standalone, self-cleaning public washroom and “wayfinding” improvements — the latter, I suppose, meaning some signs telling folks where to go number one and number two. That came just months after city staff said that two self-cleaning public toilets — one in the Market, the other on Sparks Street — were on its bucket list of COVID-recovery projects, pegged then at $430,000 per washroom.