Bathrooms and porta-potties are pandemic essentials. Why don’t they stay open?

Guest: Shawn Micallef, contributing columnist on Toronto and urbanism, Toronto Star

Public parks and city streets have been a lifeline for Torontonians, cooped up in their homes and apartments, throughout the pandemic. But there’s a hitch to being outside: when nature calls, where do you “go?” The access to public bathrooms (or lack thereof) in Toronto has become glaring, especially with closed stores, cafes and restaurants, changing the way people spend their time outdoors. We explore how this one issue is a symptom of a bigger and more insidious problem in Toronto: who gets the right to enjoy public space and who gets left out?