Occupy Kamloops biffy issue nothing but a tempest in a pee pot

Being a member of City council is never easy, but it seldom gets dull.

Today, at its weekly meeting, council will deal with a road closure, a liquor licence application, development variance permits — the usual drill.

Then it gets more interesting. A solution must be found to that messy business of the Occupy Kamloops porta potty.

It may seem like a tempest in a pee pot to you and me, but to those who are camping out it’s a matter of some urgency, if you get my drift.

The campers began assembling across from Spirit Square on the North Shore a couple of weeks ago in support of the North America-wide protest against the banks, corporate greed, lousy weather and who knows what else.

When people camp out, illegally or not, they must find ways to answer the call of Nature. So, who do you call but a porta-potty contractor?

This did not escape the notice of the City bylaws department, which showed up at the campsite last Friday to order removal of the mobile commode, which had been placed without a proper permit.

The Occupy campers asked if Bylaws would mind leaving the WC on the QT until the matter could be worked out with the folks at City Hall. The answer was sorry, no — the camp itself is not legal, so the comfort station had to go.

The supplier was called to come and retrieve his portable outhouse, leaving the camp without a pot to pee in. Now, instead of being an illegal camp with a nonconforming outdoor biffy, it’s now just an illegal camp.

It’s expected the matter will be raised at today’s meeting under public inquiries, and a request made to let the potty go.

There are several options. Council has the power to exempt the camp and/or let the campers have their transportable latrine back. They can choose to not enforce their bylaws, or they could put a deadline on the campers for vacating the property.

They could approve the movable outhouse but decline to condone the camping and wait for winter to bring an end to the whole situation.

Or, of course, they could insist the bylaws be enforced and ask police to remove the offenders. That seems an unlikely choice.

As unhappy a political situation as this is, it’s not nearly as contentious as it is In Vancouver, where the Occupy camp is right downtown, and nobody knows what to do about it. Indeed, it has become the major issue in the Vancouver civic election, with mayoral candidates hammering each other over when to send in the cops and throw out the protesters.

But one thing they haven’t done is taken away their porta potties. They understand that when people gotta go, they’re gonna go somewhere, either in any restaurant or store they can find, or somewhere less pleasant.

The Canadian Auto Workers union as well as others have brought in porta potties to relieve the situation.

In Vancouver, they’ll probably be there as long as City Hall lets them stay. Here, winter’s coming, and even if they do get their wayward water closet back, anyone using it is going to feel the bite of Jack Frost.