Toilet brought to mayor as students aim to keep park bathrooms open for tent encampment
Mike Moore | CBC News | Posted: November 27, 2023 7:20 PM | Last Updated: November 27, 2023
MUN social work students take protest to city hall, disappointed by Danny Breen's unavailability
A cold, white porcelain toilet sits on the doorstep of St. John's city hall with rusted chains wrapped around it, secured with locks.
It's a call to action from Memorial University social work students and their professor, who want the City of St. John's to keep the bathrooms in Bannerman Park open after 8 p.m. for people living in a tent encampment behind the nearby Colonial Building.
"The bathrooms are closed after 8 p.m., public bathrooms, so as a class we started discussions about that and were kind of really concerned that the city wasn't doing more, considering that using a bathroom is a human right," fourth-year social work student Andrea Williams told CBC News in front of city hall Monday morning.
"We're here to stand up and try to put some pressure on the city to stand up and do the right thing and get these people their inherent dignity back."
But despite the group's chants for Mayor Danny Breen to come outside echoing off the building's concrete walls, the city didn't bite. Neither Breen nor any city councillors spoke with the group Monday morning.
After a short round of speeches from students, professor Julia Janes, federal NDP president Mary Shortall, provincial NDP Leader Jim Dinn and a formerly homeless man — who spoke about the difficulties faced by people living in the tent encampment — the group moved inside.
About 20 people flooded the elevators inside city hall and rode up to the fourth floor, where Breen's office is. They were told by city staff that Breen was out of the office.
"We look forward to the opportunity to speak with Mayor Breen when he's back in house. We'll come back," said Janes.
"How does it feel to be in Mayor Breen's office without Mayor Breen? Disappointing. Incredibly disappointing that the mayor isn't here, and we're going to demand a meeting in a very short period of time, where we will all be invited to his office."
'We need you'
Just over a kilometre north at Bannerman Park, residents of the encampment knew what was happening on their behalf.
WATCH | This MUN professor explains why St. John's-operated bathrooms shouldn't have a curfew:
"I'm happy," said Nicole Noble, who lives in the encampment and relies on the bathroom facilities of the park — until 8 p.m.
"I go into these bathrooms and leave notes for these [city] workers every night and I tell them, 'Thank you for cleaning this up and thank you for doing your work in the park.'"
Noble said the people living in the tents have become their own community, but some have serious health problems.
She said the bathrooms at the park also act as a bit of a safe haven for people to get away from the encampment for a few minutes. She was disappointed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn't meet with the collective during his visit to St. John's last week for a summit with European Union leaders.
"If I've got to do this protest myself, and chain myself to this bathroom so it doesn't get locked, I'll do it," Noble said.
"I've got kids. We all make mistakes, all of us do. Sometimes we just need that … belief to keep going. St. John's, we need you. We need help."
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