The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn A sign for All Gender and Accessible Washrooms at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto on Tuesday December 11, 2018.

TORONTO — Shoppers at one of Canada's biggest and busiest malls can now use the same bathroom regardless of whether they identify as male or female as Yorkdale Shopping Centre opened its first gender-neutral bathroom. The Toronto mall is the latest public space to offer such washrooms as schools, restaurants, community centres and other institutions move to be more inclusive. "The new washroom provides an inclusive option for anyone, including transgender people, people of diverse gender identities and those who may require accompaniment of some kind,'' reads a statement from the mall.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn An All Gender Washroom at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto on Dec. 11, 2018.

The 10-stall washroom has been open to the public for just under two weeks and is in addition to the mall's seven men's and women's washrooms respectively, two family facilities, three nursing rooms and several single toilets. "Yorkdale strives to offer shoppers and employees the choice to use whichever option is most comfortable to them,'' the mall said. The shopping centre is not the first mall to do so. Real-estate company Ivanhoe Cambridge, which operates 28 shopping centres across Canada, has had what it refers to as universal washrooms for some time now. "We identified the need for such facilities sometime ago,'' said Roman Drohomirecki, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of retail, as it is the company's intention to provide shoppers and retail partners with a safe, inviting environment.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn