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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Norman Howe says he's a working man. But sometimes, he has no choice but to spend his days on the streets.

He'll leave the Yellowknife Salvation Army each morning, hoping to find some contract work in heating and plumbing.

Norman Howe stands outside the Centre Square Mall. He is fed up with a lack of public washrooms downtown. - April Robinson/NNSL

But on days he doesn't, he and his friends often find themselves in a predicament when nature calls.

"There's no place downtown where a person who needs the washroom can actually go without going on the street," says Howe, 59.

During holidays, such as the Easter weekend, the situation only worsens.

"Where are we supposed to go when everything's closed?"

To use the public washroom in the upper part of the Centre Square Mall, patrons must ask for a key from a security guard or merchants. Derek Carmodi, manager of the upper Centre Square Mall, said no one should be denied a key.

The washrooms in the lower mall are not public, however, said manager Dave Polakoff.

Howe said he's often turned away. The last time he asked a security guard, he just said "no" and kept walking, Howe said. In the Yk Centre, it costs 25 cents to use the washroom, money Howe and his friends say they don't always have to spare.

"People get mad when they see people defecating in the back alleys," said his friend, Steve Evans, 48. "But when you've got to go, you've got to go."

Yellowknife Mayor Gord Van Tighem said a joint committee, with members from the NWT Health and Social Services department and the City of Yellowknife, is aware of the issue.

The city is also working on compiling a list of public washrooms to be posted on the city website.

But Van Tighem said the washroom problem for the homeless is not as urgent as it seems.

"They're doing it by choice, not because there's a lack of a place to go."

He said there are washrooms available at city hall or the public library. When asking for access, he said, "there are probably reasons why people would be denied."

Yellowknife shelters allow clients to return to use the washrooms. At the Salvation Army, washrooms are accessible from Monday to Friday, said Julia Gould-Benreddad, director of community services.

Carmodi implemented key-access for Centre Square Mall washrooms upstairs about a year ago when monthly maintenance expenses climbed close to $1,000 a month. People would drink alcohol, make drug deals and fight in the washrooms, he said. Doors would be torn off hinges and toilets broken.

"And other stuff I don't want to mention," he said. "You wouldn't even want to go into the washrooms at some point."

He says the key system is working.

"They know they're being monitored. It's not just a free-for-all."

But Aaron Hernandez, manager of CD Plus in the lower part of the mall - which has a different manager - said the keys are just a hassle for customers.

The keys keep getting stolen, so now he just tells his customers to get one from a security guard or the mall office.

But for Howe, who's trying to get on his feet after being homeless for about seven months, finding a washroom is just an extra stress.

He worries about his common-law wife, and other women, who can't go outside as easily as men.

They didn't choose homelessness, he said. They want a better life.

"We don't want to be in this position," he said.