Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario dismisses complaint over public washroom access in Sudbury

A Sudbury man says he's disappointed that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario won't hold a hearing on his complaint regarding a need for 24-hour public access to washrooms for people living on the streets.

Holland Marshall, 77, pointed out the signs and smells of human excrement as he walked downtown to a local café.

Marshall said there are few options during the day for people with substance use disorders and mental health issues to use a toilet and wash their hands, and close to none at night.

The onus, he argues, lies with the city to provide access at all times to everyone.

"Proper toilet facilities and potable drinking water is a human right recognized by the United Nations," he said.

"We may not be able to afford to put everybody into a proper apartment. We may not even be able to put them into transitional housing and all the rest of it; but we can at least give 24-hour washrooms and drinking water supplies. If we can't do that, we're not doing the basics."

Many buildings and churches, most recently the historic downtown Ukrainian church, have erected fences to prevent people from urinating and defecating in alcoves, or setting fires to keep warm.

Downtown business owners have complained about having to clean their doorsteps of human waste every morning.

According to the last count, the city says, there are about 500 homeless people in Sudbury.

About a year and a half ago, Marshall met 21 people on the street and filed a human rights complaint on their behalf, claiming it's the city's obligation to provide them round-the-clock facilities and potable water.

In a decision released June 27, the rights tribunal ruled Marshall's application doesn't fall under its jurisdiction and dismissed it.

It says it can only enforce the legal code, which prohibits discrimination on 17 grounds including disability, gender, race, age and others.

"While there may be a correlation or connection between homelessness and disability, these concepts cannot be substituted for each other," wrote tribunal member Stephen Eaton in the decision. "In this case, not all of the 21 purported applicants have an identified disability." 

Marshall said he's disappointed,, although not terribly surprised.

He said he put a lot of effort into the application and gave an example in British Columbia.

"The Human Rights Commission there accepted a case where people had to walk too far for public washrooms," he said.

As well, he worries about the health issues surrounding handling human waste, and wonders if there will be outbreaks of dysentery.

He has tried to tackle the problem himself by putting together portable loo kits that consist of a bucket with liners and toilet paper.

He has given some to outreach workers to distribute, although he's a little skeptical that they'll make a big difference.

As for what the city currently does offer, a spokesperson said public washrooms in the Centre for Life located near the YMCA parking lot in downtown Sudbury are not open this spring after safety issues for members and employees of the Y arose while they were available for use last summer.

The city is operating a cooling centre in Energy Court open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and people can access washrooms overnight at the city shelter.

During the winter, the city says, the Energy Court warming centre helped address the need for downtown washroom access on weekdays.

Not to be deterred, Marshall plans to raise the issue for the city to provide 24-hour bathroom access during the next municipal election campaign.