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THE WALKING COMEDIC symbol of Victoria’s raw-sewage outfalls into the Strait of Juan de Fuca made his first public appearance in four years last week — and surprisingly was flushed from a Green Party event.
Mr. Floatie — who crossed the border to appear at a Port Angeles City Council meeting in 2005 to call attention to the provincial capital’s lack of sewage treatment — was shown the door at a rally of about 1,300 organized by the Green Party to promote a legislative candidate in an upcoming election.
Environmental activist James Skwarok donned his costume of the happy-faced feces in a sailor’s hat to renew his support of a planned $783 million sewage-treatment plant to stem the flow of untreated sewage into the Strait.
Sensing shifting political winds as Victorians face huge tax bills to pay for the project, candidates are calling for its cancellation.
The Green Party legislative candidate apparently opposes it, as do his two opponents for Parliament in Ottawa. There’s also a proposal to delay the project’s implementation from 2018 to 2040.
“If not now, when?” asked Mr. Floatie, who once tried to run for Victoria mayor — as Mr. Floatie. He was thwarted by the courts.
Skwarok said his ouster at the Greens’ rally didn’t really matter.
Fans of Mr. Floatie apparently agreed.
The costumed figure took several photographs with tourists and passers-by outside the convention center next to the Fairmont Empress hotel.
The issue: Victoria pumps about 35 million gallons of raw sewage into the Strait daily.
The debate has been raging for decades.
Environmentalists and scientists on both sides of the border say Victoria is polluting the ocean.
But municipal leaders in Victoria, citing other scientists, have said the Strait acts as a natural flushing toilet that disperses waste with minimal environmental impact.
With this debate, is Mr. Floatie making a comeback?
“I wasn’t there to make a big stink,” Skwarok said of his attempt to crash the Greens’ rally.
“I was there to make a point . . . that household and other toxic substances in our sewage will only accumulate over time in marine sediments and marine organisms.
“I don’t think we should wait until it’s too late.”
