TORONTO — Starbucks’ plan to open its washrooms to the non-paying public “100 per cent of the time” is good news for consumers who seek a hassle-free place to go on the go, but likely won’t stop the kind of discrimination that pressured the coffee giant into making the change, says Lezlie Lowe, author of a forthcoming book on the role of public washrooms in society. One of the two men was also denied access to the store’s washroom after being told he wasn’t a paying customer. Mitchell Kosny, a professor at Ryerson University’s school of urban and regional planning, said the onus shouldn’t solely be on corporations to provide the public with washrooms. He said they should be a “part of our infrastructure” and suggested that newly built commercial buildings should be required to provide space for public washrooms. Nelson and Robinson settled with Starbucks earlier this month for an undisclosed sum and an offer of a free college education.

Source: National Post May 11, 2018 17:48 UTC