Pubdate: Wed, 23 May 2012
Source: Maple Ridge News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Maple Ridge News
Contact:  http://www.mapleridgenews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1328
Author: Phil Melnychuk

MLA WANTS WASHROOMS UNLOCKED

Go to bathroom before visiting the income assistance office on 
Lougheed Highway in downtown Maple Ridge because the public washrooms 
in that building are locked.

That bothers MLA Michael Sather.

"It's totally ridiculous. I can't believe it," Sather said last week.

"It's a human rights kind of issue."

Sather, MLA for Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows, said he's received a few 
complaints, though not as many as he'd expect, after the department 
closed the bathroom to the public about a year ago.

That can mean people waiting in line lose their place if they have to 
leave the building and find a bathroom elsewhere.

He said he can only conclude that lack of resources means staff just 
can't supervise well enough to prevent the facility from being used 
for drug use.

Instead, known trouble-makers could be barred from the washroom.

"But to make everybody else suffers doesn't seem right."

For him, it's a sign of an under-funded department that can't afford 
the staff to adequately supervise the office where people apply for 
income assistance.

One complaint came from a mom with two young children, Sather said.

He raised the issue in the legislature last week, asking Social 
Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux why the office closed the bathroom.

"The B.C. Building Code requires that public service buildings 
provide washrooms, yet the washrooms at the Maple Ridge office have 
been closed to the clients for a year," he said in the legislature.

It's only under "exceptional circumstances" when bathrooms aren't 
available, said the ministry.

In the Maple Ridge office, the bathroom is locked, but the key is 
available by asking the security guard or staff.

"This practice was put into place due to safety concerns, as well as 
due to frequent vandalism-related repairs and cleaning that was 
required to maintain the washroom," said the ministry.

Security guards or staff can also keep the person's place in line. 
The department also said one complaint was made while the washroom 
was closed for renovations.

Clients also are sometimes to directed to other washrooms.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom