Every human shares one simple reality: we all need access to washrooms, whether at home or in public spaces. In Ottawa, that basic need has become a recurring frustration for many residents.
But what is usually a serious concern for park users took a playful tone Sunday when the GottaGo! Campaign awarded Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard with the “Golden Plunger” award, recognizing his efforts to expand washroom access both within his ward and across the city. The volunteer-run organization, founded in 2014, has given the award only once before, nine years ago.
“We give it to someone who has shown leadership in the issue of public toilets ,” Bessa Whitmore, co-founder of the GottaGo! Campaign, said.
Menard’s work on the issue accelerated last year when he successfully passed a motion securing city-wide funding to extend hours at existing park washrooms or install portable toilets. He also pushed to nearly double each ward’s annual washroom budget from $2,400 to $4,500.
This summer, Menard said his ward now has six to eight porta-potties in all of the ward’s major parks, including Brantwood Park, Brewer Park, Glebe Memorial Park, Kaladar Park, Springhurst Park, Sylvia Holden and Windsor Park.
“This was adding onto existing bathrooms,” he said. “We’re also extending bathroom hours at the brand-new Heron Park Community Building to open on Fridays.”
The award ceremony, held at the Lansdowne Farmers’ Market on July 12, drew dozens of residents.
“It is important to celebrate these things. People care about this issue, and so I was ecstatic, so it was a fun thing to do,” Menard said Sunday. “Everybody’s gotta go, and it makes a huge difference.”
Still, both Menard and the GottaGo! Campaign organizers say significant gaps remain.
Many existing park washrooms stay locked because the city lacks staff to open and maintain them. Menard says hiring summer students (who are paid about $25 an hour, similar to pool staff) would allow those facilities to open and be cleaned weekly.
“It’s something we’re going to keep pursuing in the coming years,” he said.
Portable toilets, meanwhile, cost several thousand dollars over the four summer months, including weekly cleaning. But Menard argues the investment is small compared to the benefits.
“It’s a cost-effective measure to increase quality of life for people,” he said. “It’s a low cost for having bathroom access for everybody.”
Beyond parks, Menard pointed to broader gaps in washroom access across Ottawa’s transit system. Similarly, Menard says that many of the facilities remain closed due to the city’s staffing and resource constraints. He says improving access is becoming increasingly urgent.
“There’s a critical mass of people who want this, and more and more politicians need to start listening to quality-of-life issues because it makes a difference.”
Whitmore says the campaign is trying to engage suburban and rural councillors to do their part. She says, while urban councillors are supportive, suburban and rural ones often have the issue ranking low on their priority list.
“That’s one reason (this issue) gets voted down in terms of budget,” she said. “We’re trying to reach out to them to put this closer to the top of their priority list on what’s needed in their ward.”
But a simple solution for Whitmore is signage. For a decade, she said the campaign has urged the city to mark what Whitmore referred to as “hidden toilets” downtown: public washrooms inside buildings such as city hall and the National Arts Centre.
The campaign itself began in a moment of urgency. Joan Kuyek, now the organization’s chair, took her toddler to a splash pad and discovered there was “nowhere to go.” The movement started slow, with only a few neighbours and daycare centres organizing to push for change.
Public access to bathrooms is a human right, according to Whitmore.
“After all,” Whitmore said, “everybody needs to go sooner or later.”
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