Imagine sprinting out of a tense political debate because you have morning sickness, only to find the single, solitary bathroom stall available to you is occupied. You can't wait. Your only other option is to run down the hall to a public restroom, praying you don't throw up in front of a tour group or a huddle of reporters.
This isn't a hypothetical scenario from the 1950s. It happened recently to Kim Breckner, an NDP MLA for Saskatoon Riversdale, before giving birth to her son in late 2025.
For 114 years, the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in Regina operated with a glaring architectural double standard. Male politicians enjoyed a luxurious, private, members-only bathroom complete with marble dividers, oak doors, five sinks, and a dresser. Female politicians? They shared a single-stall setup or walked down the hall to compete with the public.
Change is finally arriving. A $200,000 renovation project is turning a former office into a proper, multi-stall private space for female MLAs. It is a massive victory, but it raises an uncomfortable question. Why did it take until 2026 for Saskatchewan to give female lawmakers a basic place to pee?
Built For Men, Maintained For Men
To understand how this happened, you have to look at the bones of the building. When the Saskatchewan Legislative Building opened its doors in 1912, the architects didn't design a women's restroom near the chamber. Why would they? Women didn't have the right to vote, let alone sit as elected officials.
Saskatchewan women won the right to vote and hold provincial office in 1916. Sarah Ramsland became the province’s first female MLA in 1919. Yet, the physical infrastructure of the building remained frozen in 1912.
For decades, the low number of women in office allowed the government to ignore the issue. It was easy to treat basic biological needs as an afterthought when women only made up a tiny fraction of the assembly. But today, women hold 21 of the 61 seats in the legislature. That is roughly 30 percent of the chamber. Squeezing nearly two dozen busy politicians into a single-stall bathroom during short recess breaks is logistically impossible.
The Logistics Of Exclusion
The single-stall bathroom wasn't just small; its location created a bizarre political hurdle.
The lone stall was located deep within the government side of the building. For opposition NDP MLAs, using the restroom meant running a gauntlet. Nicole Sarauer, the Opposition NDP house leader, noted that female opposition members had to walk directly through areas where government members were being briefed by officials.
Sarauer pointed out that there were multiple instances where interactions with government officials actively discouraged opposition women from using that washroom. When access to a bathroom requires navigating partisan territory, a basic utility becomes a political tool.
When that single government-side stall inevitably broke down—as it did recently, sporting a paper "Out of Order" sign—women were left with no private options at all.
What The New Space Looks Like
The new renovation, spearheaded by Legislative Clerk Iris Lang and Assembly Speaker Todd Goudy, is converting Lang’s former office just outside the chamber into a dedicated space. The project aims to match the historic luxury long enjoyed by male colleagues while addressing modern realities.
Building manager Steve Bata is using a mix of original materials and heritage designs so the room matches the rest of the 1912 structure.
- Historic Integrity: The space retains soaring, curved oak windows and an intricate fireplace.
- Heritage Details: Workers are utilizing salvaged old marble and vintage light fixtures, including a century-old rose-petal fixture that sat in storage for decades.
- Modern Functionality: Unlike the historic men's room, this space will include full barrier-free accessibility and a family area with a changing table.
The inclusion of a family space is crucial. Because Saskatchewan MLAs do not receive formal maternity leave, lawmakers frequently bring their babies and toddlers to the capital. Having a private space to care for young children changes the job from hostile to manageable.
The Real Cost Of Institutional Delay
A bathroom is never just a bathroom. It dictates who feels welcome in a space and who is treated as a temporary guest.
When an institution takes more than a century to provide equal amenities, it sends a loud message to the community about whose comfort and presence matters. Female MLAs have been actively pushing for this specific renovation for over thirty years. Former cabinet ministers raised the issue in the 1990s, only to be met with bureaucratic foot-dragging.
The current construction work will wrap up in June, ensuring the facilities are fully operational for the fall sitting. It is a vital step forward, but the long delay serves as a reminder that institutional adaptation rarely happens automatically. It requires constant pressure to force old buildings—and old systems—to accommodate the people working inside them today.
