Get Involved
Ottawa needs accessible, free, clean, safe and environmentally responsible public toilets and water fountains with signage at major transit stops, key public places and parks to meet the needs of residents and tourists.
Ottawa lags way behind many cities in Canada (Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver) and elsewhere (Japan, South Korea, New Zealand). Ottawa needs an extensive network of public toilets to serve the ever growing community.
Join GottaGo! in putting pressure on the City of Ottawa, National Capital Commission and Ottawa Tourism to show tangible leadership in providing free, accessible, clean, safe and environmentally responsible public toilets with handwashing stations. Together we can bring changes to make Ottawa a livable city for everyone.
Urgent Action
Please co-sign Gottago! Campaign asking City of Ottawa Mayor and Councillors to include public toilets as essential public health infrastructure in the current 2020-2021 budget considerations. A letter co-signed by many community groups and organizations will constitute a powerful statement in supporting this policy request.
The city pre-budget consultations has begun on October 6. Therefore it is urgent that you sign this letter as soon as possible so that we can send it to the mayor and councillors for consideration during the budget hearing.
GottaGo! campaign letter
A network of safe, free, clean, environmentally responsible public toilets that are accessible to persons with disabilities in Ottawa will benefit all of us in the city particularly, women, children, seniors and people with chronicle diseases. It will help us keep our city clean and more friendly for residents and visitors. It will also create jobs, increase safety in our public spaces, and stiumlate the economy. It is a win-win to everyone at all ages!
What you can do?
Spread the word through your social network about our campaign
Help us put pressure on the City and National Capital Commission (NCC) about our proposal: feel free to use this sample letter as a reference for your letter to the City and NCC
Tell us what you think about Ottawa’s public toilet system: fill in our GottaGo! online survey!
Our No. 1 priority right now is to Ensure that open, clean public toilets and water fountains accessible to people of all abilities are installed in all proposed LRT stations and Park and Ride stations. Despite an expected 10,000 passengers per hour passing through the stations, there will be few toilets. There will be public toilets at each end of the light rail: Blair and Tunney’s Pasture and City Council has now agreed to put them at the Bayview and Hurdman Stations, but we don’t think this is enough. What if commuters at stations at other staions need to use washrooms? Where can they go? Learning from our existing bus stations, we know what it would be like without clean and accessible washrooms at an LRT station.
Please phone or write our mayor, city councillors, rail implementation office, and city’s public health department that we want public toilets at ALL LRT stations.
How can I support GottaGo!?
GottaGo! needs your support. Every effort, large or small, matters to make clean, safe and accessible public toilets a reality in Ottawa.
Here are some suggestions. (If you have any idea that is not included in the list below, please let us know.)
• Become a volunteer. We are always looking for volunteers to assist us in social media handling, public engagement, campaigns, research projects and many others. If you have any specific idea as to how you can volunteer, please let us know.
• Write to us about your experiences searching for public toilets, finding them closed and other issues (needs and conditions) in your neighbourhood. Take pictures of public toilets (here or elsewhere in your travels) and send them to us.
• Reach out to local media (print and digital), radio and TV stations about public toilet issues and urge them to cover this in their reporting. Tell them to contact GottaGo! for more information.
• Write or approach your ward councillor about the need for public toilets in your area. GottaGo! will be more than happy to assist you.
• Spread the word about GottaGo! actions to people around you.
• Follow GottaGo! on Twitter and Facebook.
• Become an intern. We have internship opportunities from time to time for university and college students. Contact us for more information.
• Community service hours for high school students. Please contact us.
• Make donation. We accept donations but cannot issue a tax receipt.
How can I stay informed about GottaGo! work? Visit GottaGo!’s website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates. You can also write to us. We are always happy to hear from you.