Sask. legislature finally adds washrooms for women MLAs

A century-old oversight is being rectified at Saskatchewan’s Legislative Building with a new washroom for female MLAs. Wayne Mantyka reports.

A century-old oversight is finally being addressed at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building.

Construction crews are building a washroom for female MLAs just outside the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly chamber.

“This has been a project that has been known and needs to be done,” said Legislative speaker Todd Goudy.

When the building was constructed in the early 1900s, a washroom for female members wasn’t included in its design plans because women didn’t have the right to vote or sit as elected members.

Women didn’t gain the right to vote until 1916, spurred on by a mass collective of women that united provincial grain growers, the Christian temperance movement and political activists, according to Elections Saskatchewan.

Together, they presented a petition of 10,000 signatures at the Legislative Assembly on Valentine’s Day 1916. The bill granting women the right to vote in Saskatchewan received royal assent on March 14, 1916.

Saskatchewan was the second province in Canada to give equal voting rights to women, following two months behind Manitoba.

Now, more than 100 years after the rights of women to vote and hold elected office were enshrined in law, the legislature itself is finally being adapted to accommodate them.

A very small washroom was set aside for female members a few years ago, but due to the increased number of women MLAs, it’s proven to be inadequate.

Thirty per cent of Saskatchewan’s MLAs are women according to Goudy.

The washroom for male MLAs has been renovated over the years and still contains many of the fixtures dating back to the early 1900s.

“[You see] marble, you see some oak, you see some tiles and some heritage lighting balanced with the needs of barrier-free and family washroom aspects,” said building manager Steve Bata.

The planned female members’ washroom is expected to have the same quality.

This project has strong support from both the government and opposition.