Free Loo For All
Friday, July 4th, 2008
Do you think businesses that don’t sell food and drink should be obligated to provide washrooms for the public? City Councillor Howard Moscoe does. He’s championing a proposal that has been approved by Toronto’s Licensing and Standards Committee and would force stores to grant the public access to their washrooms. City Council will now be examining this topic.
I guess the real issue is who is going to clean these toilet facilities? Many businesses that do sell food and drink and therefore must provide facilities limit the traffic traipsing through their washrooms to paying customers. Presumably part of the purchase price of your item goes toward maintenance of said facility. By increasing the volume, the washrooms will need more frequent upkeep and there won’t be extra cash to pay for the cleaners. We could always go back to the days when you had to pay to use the washroom. Remember that? It would take a dime or a quarter to open the stall door.
What’s your take on this issue? Do you feel comfortable walking into a fast food joint and using the toilet without purchasing anything or do you at least buy a coffee? Do you think you should be entitled to use the washroom at a hardware store or a pharmacy? Many of the big box stores already allow this, but they’re not usually located downtown. And I’m assuming that city councillors, whose salaries are paid by our taxes, already share their washrooms with the public, otherwise it would be hypocritical of them to suggest private businesses must do so. Weigh in on this issue by clicking on the No Comments/Comments link below. Today’s Jack Nation bonus code is THELOO. It’s valid until July 6th.
P.S. Come out and celebrate Aren’t We Naughty’s 25th Anniversary with me on Saturday, July 5th. I will be at the Brampton location between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. I’ll also have an extra bonus code handy, so hope to see you there. Find out more at arentwenaughty.com.