John Buchanan has been paying $3 to use the showers at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre since he currently does not have a home offering the same amenities.
But now he says he’s being blocked from using some of the centre’s showers and that centre staff wrongly called the police on him.
When he first started using the showers, it was in the public pool section of the centre.
“There is a push button, there is no hot water ever, and you’re exposed,” said Buchanan. “So you have to shower in front of everybody, which can be kind of embarrassing, especially when you’re living in the bush, and I wanna scrub up.”
Buchanan started using the hockey arena dressing room showers for more privacy when no events were scheduled for time on the ice.
“They had full hot water, and it was private. I could lock the door behind me, and I thought it was perfect. I was using it for a good few months. I kept myself clean, cleaned up after myself, and only used it when necessary,” said Buchanan.
Eventually, however, the centre staff took notice of Buchanan showering on the arena side, he said. Shortly after, the centre staff told Buchanan he was no longer allowed to use that side of the facilities for washing up, he said. He thought it was “completely strange” that they didn’t let him and others use the showers on the arena side.
Buchanan continued to use the showers in the dressing rooms as he mentioned it was the best place to keep himself clean.
“They (staff) kept coming into the dressing room,” he said. “First, they would knock, and they told me I wasn’t allowed to use it and I looked up their policies and their guidelines and I was within my rights, but (a staff member) called the cops for some reason. I wasn’t being aggressive, I didn’t even say anything. Actually, he walked in on me while I was in the shower.”
While Buchanan was showing the guidelines of the centre’s policies to staff, a staff member was on the phone with the police.
It still puzzled Buchanan why he and others couldn’t use the showers on the other side.
“When it’s not being used for anything, I think it should still be open to everybody,” he said. “It offers like another eight, nine showers available to the public. If you pay, you get to use the pool, you get to use the fitness room, you get to use the basketball courts, you get to use the rink.”
Buchanan went to the West Shore Parks and Recreation meeting on Dec. 14 to discuss his issues.
Grant Brown, chief administrative officer for West Shore Parks and Recreation, told Black Press Media that he was aware of Buchanan’s situation. He noted that they discussed Buchanan’s concerns at a December meeting, but had to do so in-camera due to the privacy of his case.
“The arena change rooms, they’re not publicly accessible change rooms,” Brown told Black Press Media. “They’re specific to the user groups of the arena facility. The reasons for that is they come with their rentals and so there’s no guarantee they’re accessible out of that, as the rentals can change all the time, as well as they’re not monitored.”
Brown said staff could go all day without going down that area of the centre and it could be a safety or health concern if someone needs assistance. Whereas the pool change rooms are monitored more frequently.
The board is expected to discuss the letter Buchanan wrote to them addressing the shower concerns and the policy at its next meeting.
“There is an update to add in the shower-specific into the policies and what that usage is,” said Brown.
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