Ontario proposes bathroom upgrades to construction sites
Changes are in the works to improve conditions of bathrooms on construction sites in Ontario, and that includes making them more inclusive.
“It’s long overdue,” said Alex Poulin who works as an electrical foreman in Ottawa.
“Some employers will go above and beyond and supply more washrooms, but others would do the strict minimum.”
Kathy Choquette has been an electrician for more than 30 years and says conditions aren’t always pleasant.
“The other side the guys had a urinal and there was a little toilet on the inside with half a door and you could see who was inside with a half a door so you could see who was in there. It was awful,” Choquette said, describing one site she worked on downtown.
“I wouldn’t use those I’d go across the street and use a Tim Hortons or whatever.”
Ontario’s labour minister is proposing to improve bathroom conditions on construction sites after a recent inspection at more than 1,800 construction sites found 244 violations.
Proposed changes include doubling the number of toilets, adequate lighting, hand sanitizer when there’s no running water, completely enclosed single toilets and at least one women’s only toilet.
Dreadful bathroom conditions have been a long battle for those in the skilled trades, including the Ottawa Construction Association.
“When COVID hit we were working with the Building Trades Council to create a gold standard for hygiene and these are some of the issues we flagged,” said president John DeVries.
Some construction sites in the capital already offer adequate bathrooms.
“We’re fortunate on the site we’re in right now, said Choquette. “We have trailers we have one side for women. We got one last week because we pushed for it.”
There are nearly 600,000 construction workers in Ontario, but only one in 10 are women. The province hopes these changes would make the skilled trades more accessible to women and improve the health and safety of workers.
If approved, the new rules for cleaner washrooms would come into effect July 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.