Taxpayers federation protests giant rubber duck, calls it a ‘waste of taxpayer money’
“This giant rubber duck isn’t all it’s quacked up to be,” the federation’s Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn said outside Queen’s Park on Monday, where she brought her family’s pool-sized rubber duck, filled with almost 800 bath toy ducks.

TheStar.com
June 13, 2017
Kristin Rushowy

The duck stops with Premier Kathleen Wynne, who has run afoul of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation over the government’s $121,000 in funding for a July long-weekend tourist attraction.

“This giant rubber duck isn’t all it’s quacked up to be,” the federation’s Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn said outside Queen’s Park on Monday, where she brought her family’s pool-sized rubber duck, filled with almost 800 bath toy ducks, to protest the “waste of taxpayer money.”

“You rented it for Canada Day celebrations,” she said, “even though it has no connection to Ontario, to Canada or to our history.”

While the money was actually provided to the Redpath Waterfront Festival, which then arranged and paid to host the world’s largest rubber duck, Van Geyn said “I know the Premier didn’t write the cheque for the duck herself, at the end of the day, the buck — or the duck — stops with her.”

The flap over the duck — which is nearly 19 metres tall and weighs 13,600 kilograms — erupted late last month. It will also be featured at festivals in Owen Sound, Sault Ste. Marie, Midland, Amherstburg and Brockville.

The government has said it supports local festivals, which often look for quirky attractions to boost visitors, and that for every dollar spent there are about $20 in spinoff benefits.

“It’s a really important marker for this country and this province, our 150th birthday, and we have as a province invested in festivals all across the province to allow communities to celebrate in the way that they deem to be appropriate, to allow them to draw tourists and to have fun during this celebration,” Wynne told reporters at a press conference when asked about the fowl fuss.

“And you know we have allowed festivals to determine what that means in their communities. So I look forward to those celebrations.”

Van Geyn said her organization received a number of calls and emails and set up a website for people to donate $5 to have a duck sent to the premier in protest. The fee covered the cost of running the website as well as for the rubber ducks — of varying size and ranging anywhere from 75 cents to just over $3 each — and transportation to the legislature.

This is “the duck that broke the camel’s back,” added Van Geyn. “ … It’s the absurdity of it — it’s that this government has such a track record with waste … (and is) willing to shell out money without a lot of accountability associated with it.”

The duck coming to Toronto also landed in hot water with a Dutch artist, who calls it a “counterfeit.” However, the company here has trademarked the “world’s largest rubber duck” and called Studio Florentijn Hofman’s complaints “factually and legally incorrect.”

The 2017 Redpath Waterfront Festival is an annual event in the city. Partners of the festival include the Toronto Star, CTV and Porter airlines, among others.