Chris Puglia
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 13/02) - Alicia Price and Tamara Doering want family-oriented stores and restaurants to put in amenities that cater to children.

The sisters are tired of dealing with inconvenient -- and at times inappropriate -- places to change their children's diapers.

They believe stores, restaurants and public buildings that have a high volume of family traffic should provide baby changing stations in their washrooms.

"One day I was at the Monkey Tree Family Restaurant, and I have a nephew that is nine months old and he is too big to fit in-between the sink. I had to change his diaper on the bathroom floor, and it's a bar bathroom," said Doering. "I think any place that claims to be a family restaurant should have one (change station)."

Jimmy Kong, owner of the Monkey Tree Restaurant, said the decision to put in a changing station is not his.

"We share with the pub to use the same outlet. It's not our decision," said Kong.

At times the two mothers have had to go without changing their children, or have changed them in public places, which has earned them some dirty looks.

Price said that she has been surprised by some of the places that don't have change stations.

"The hospital doesn't even have one. I had to use the staff room," she said.

Centre Square Mall is another location the women said doesn't have a change station but should.

Jennifer Marchant, manager of Centre Square Developments, said that if it was possible the mall would have a change station.

Due to the building design, she said, the mall can't accommodate the necessary building specifications.

"We'd have to take out the walls to do it," said Marchant. "We don't have the space. We've looked at it. Unfortunately we can't."

"With the current set-up it would prevent people from opening the door."

Doering and Price have identified five city businesses as having a change station: Canadian Tire, Javaroma, Boston Pizza, Wal-Mart and McDonald's.

Canadian Tire put in change stations when they built the new store in October 2001.

"It was something we wanted to do to look after the customer the best we could. It was a customer service gesture," said Canadian Tire owner Brad Elliot.

Tim Mercer, Yellowknife's director of corporate services, said there has never been a request for the city to institute a bylaw to make it mandatory for public buildings to have baby changing tables in their restrooms.

He said he is also unaware of any other jurisdictions having a bylaw to regulate public buildings installing change stations.