Say it ain't so! Four ridiculously partisan government ads we probably won't see again
No more Pierre Poilievre vanity videos? Say it ain't so.
The Liberal government has just unveiled new rules it says are designed to limit use of public funds for partisan purposes in government advertising.
Under the new rules all government communications and advertising will have to conform to four criteria for non-partisanship:
- They must be factual and explanatory;
- They must be free from political parties’ slogans, identifiers, or affiliation;
- The primary colour used in the ads cannot be the primary colours used by the governing party — so no red for Liberals, blue for Conservatives, or orange for the New Democrats;
- Advertising is devoid of any name, voice or image of federal politicians.
Now, of course, the proof will be in the pudding.
Just hours after announcing the policy, the government found itself defending Justin Trudeau's appearance in a federal campaign designed to promote Canadian tourism - something that seems at odds with the spirit of the new policy.
And during the election campaign, the Liberals promised to appoint an advertising commissioner housed in the Office of the Auditor General to vet government ads for partisanship. Bringing in the AG sounded like a great idea - given the work of the Auditor General of Ontario in trying to clean up partisan ads in that province.
Since the election, the Trudeau government has had second thoughts, and the Advertising Standards Canada will now take on that role instead.
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