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

Kate Rutherford · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 14, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

A Sudbury antheral says he's disappointed that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario won't clasp a proceeding connected his ailment regarding a request for 24-hour nationalist entree to washrooms for radical surviving connected the streets.

Holland Marshall, 77, pointed out the signs and smells of quality excrement arsenic helium walked downtown to a section café.

Marshall said there are fewer options during the time for radical with substance usage disorders and intelligence wellness issues to usage a toilet and lavation their hands, and adjacent to nary astatine night.

The onus, helium argues, lies with the metropolis to supply entree astatine each times to everyone.

"Proper toilet facilities and potable drinking h2o is simply a quality close recognized by the United Nations," helium said.

"We whitethorn not beryllium capable to spend to enactment everybody into a due apartment. We whitethorn not adjacent beryllium capable to enactment them into transitional lodging and each the remainder of it; but we tin astatine slightest springiness 24-hour washrooms and drinking h2o supplies. If we can't bash that, we're not doing the basics."

Many buildings and churches, astir precocious the historical downtown Ukrainian church, person erected fences to forestall radical from urinating and defecating successful alcoves, or setting fires to support warm.

Downtown concern owners person complained astir having to cleanable their doorsteps of quality discarded each morning.

According to the past count, the metropolis says, determination are astir 500 stateless radical successful Sudbury.

About a twelvemonth and a fractional ago, Marshall met 21 radical connected the thoroughfare and filed a quality rights ailment connected their behalf, claiming it's the city's work to supply them round-the-clock facilities and potable water.

In a determination released June 27, the rights tribunal ruled Marshall's exertion doesn't autumn nether its jurisdiction and dismissed it.

It says it tin lone enforce the ineligible code, which prohibits favoritism connected 17 grounds including disability, gender, race, property and others.

"While determination whitethorn beryllium a correlation oregon transportation betwixt homelessness and disability, these concepts cannot beryllium substituted for each other," wrote tribunal member Stephen Eaton successful the decision. "In this case, not each of the 21 purported applicants person an identified disability." 

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

He said he enactment a batch of effort into the exertion and gave an illustration successful British Columbia.

"The Human Rights Commission determination accepted a lawsuit wherever radical had to locomotion excessively acold for nationalist washrooms," helium said.

As well, helium worries astir the wellness issues surrounding handling quality waste, and wonders if determination volition beryllium outbreaks of dysentery.

He has tried to tackle the occupation himself by putting unneurotic portable loo kits that dwell of a bucket with liners and toilet paper.

He has fixed immoderate to outreach workers to distribute, though he's a small skeptical that they'll marque a large difference.

As for what the metropolis presently does offer, a spokesperson said public washrooms successful the Centre for Life located adjacent the YMCA parking batch successful downtown Sudbury are not unfastened this outpouring aft information issues for members and employees of the Y arose portion they were disposable for usage past summer.

The metropolis is operating a cooling centre in Energy Court unfastened from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and radical tin entree washrooms overnight astatine the metropolis shelter.

During the winter, the metropolis says, the Energy Court warming centre helped code the request for downtown washroom entree connected weekdays.

Not to beryllium deterred, Marshall plans to rise the contented for the metropolis to supply 24-hour bath entree during the adjacent municipal predetermination campaign.