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Washrooms for all: Intergovernmental affairs committee approves advocacy plan

The goal is new provincial and/or federal funding for improved public lavatories
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Prince George's Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs meets on the second floor of city hall.

Prince George’s Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs approved an advocacy plan that aims to secure capital funding for washroom access in the city at its Tuesday, Aug. 5 meeting.

Back in December 2024, city council heard a notice of motion from councillors Tim Bennett and Trudy Klassen that included several action items relating to washrooms.

It included getting updating cost estimates from a 2019 study on improving downtown washroom access, include questions about public washrooms in future city surveys, ask staff to apply for grants that could help improve washroom access and ask the intergovernmental affairs committee to create an advocacy plan.

A report prepared by city staff ahead of the Aug. 5 committee meeting said that another report on washrooms is expected to be presented to council in the third quarter of this year.

Also attached to the meeting agenda was a draft advocacy plan that will be attached to that report.

The one-page advocacy plan is simple.

It lists the objective of getting increased capital funding to improve safe and clean washroom access for all Prince George residents.

These efforts will be directed to the provincial minister of housing and municipal affairs as well as the minister of state for local governments and municipalities, to the federal minister of housing and infrastructures.

Apart from government officials, the advocacy will also include the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Union of BC Municipalities.

The proposed advocacy will take the form of letters, direct engagement, information packages and other efforts directed at these officials.

In Klassen and Bennett’s motion, there was mention of a self-cleaning washroom installed in Valemount for which more than $300,000 in provincial grants were provided.

City staff said on Aug. 5 that of the funding sources Valemount was able to access, Prince George would only be able to apply for one of them — up to $30,000 from the Northern Development Initiative Trust’s Community Places program.

The advocacy plan passed unanimously.

The only member of the committee not present at the meeting was Coun. Brian Skakun, though Klassen sat in as an ex-officio member.