Issue and Opponent: In Leader, Saskatchewan a group of residents from a farming community of nearly 1,000 citizens had gotten tired of large potholes left unattended by the local government. Inspired by the movie Calendar Girls, southwest Saskatchewan citizens consisting of 11 men and 1 woman participated to call attention to the issue. The potholes had been described as “many feet across” and as deep as a foot deep. The issue had gotten so bad that local ambulance drivers were reluctant to use the route during emergencies. It was a widely held belief that the local Canadian government should be taking care of the potholes and public infrastructure to keep roads safe and clear.
Dilemma Action: Twelve citizens from the town Leader, Canada posed nude in potholes on Canada’s Highway 32 and created a calendar to draw attention to the issue. They titled the calendar “2007 Highway 32 Pothole Calendar” with one of the residents sitting in a canoe perched in a pothole wearing only a smile, as well as other similar images. This action aimed to hold the local government accountable for an issue that had not been addressed or properly managed. One of the signs held by one of the residents reads “Free Willy. Nothing else has worked to fix Highway 32” therefor clearly “laughtivism” was incorporated within this action.
Outcomes: In total, 3000 calendars were sold worldwide which raised nearly $40,000 when to repair the roof of the local city hall building and repair the road. There were even bumper stickers and other collectible items sold. The roads were repaired and repaved completely 4 years after the action which had caught the attention of not only the local government but also international media.