{"id":354,"date":"2017-03-15T21:06:53","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T21:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/?p=354"},"modified":"2017-03-15T21:07:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T21:07:23","slug":"christy-clark-doesnt-care-thinks-dont-either","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/2017\/03\/15\/christy-clark-doesnt-care-thinks-dont-either\/","title":{"rendered":"But Christy Clark doesn\u2019t care \u2014 and she thinks you don\u2019t either."},"content":{"rendered":"

Spot the Difference: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 BC Liberal Campaign TV Spot, \u00a0 \u00a0or \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Taxpayer-Funded \u2018Government\u2019 Ad?<\/strong><\/p>\n

BC Premier Christy Clark is spending millions on government-paid political propaganda.<\/h4>\n

By\u00a0Bill Tieleman<\/a>\u00a0 wrote in TheTyee.ca<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bill Tieleman is a former NDP (New Democrat Party) strategist whose clients include unions and businesses in the resource and public sector. Tieleman is a regular Tyee contributor who writes a column on B.C. politics every Tuesday in the 24 Hours newspaper. E-mail him at weststar@telus.net<\/a> or visit his blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Taxpayer-funded ads are eerily similar to BC Liberal campaign commercials.<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe taxpayers of British Columbia should not have to pay for communications that are of a partisan political nature.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 BC Auditor General report<\/a>, 1996<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Sorz46oX2qs\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EDITORS NOTE—nortonspeaks says: \u00a0some of the relevant video did not reproduce today for this story. \u00a0Sorry, but the idea without the visual is still relevant.<\/p>\n

Can you tell the difference between the $15 million in \u201cnon-partisan\u201d government ads paid for by taxpayers this fiscal year and BC Liberal Party ads?<\/p>\n

The television airwaves are flooded with government ads titled \u201cOur Opportunity Is Here,\u201d but they\u2019re really blatant opportunism from Premier Christy Clark, because they promote February\u2019s budget, housing and training programs and more with your money \u2014 even though the B.C. election is less than 60 days away.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s totally shameless spending of taxpayer dollars to boost the BC Liberal Party, and illegal in many places. But not here, even though the independent BC Auditor General has repeatedly called for regulations to ban partisan government ads, including in reports in 1996 and again in 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Safire\u2019s New Political Dictionary<\/em> defines partisan as \u201cplacing party advantage above the public interest,\u201d the 1996 Auditor General report states \u2014 and that defines these ads perfectly.<\/p>\n

But take a political Pepsi versus Coke test and see if you can tell the difference between government and BC Liberal Party ads.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDespite economic challenges around the world, B.C.\u2019s plan to lead Canada is getting results. More British Columbians are working than ever before,\u201d says the first ad.<\/p>\n

And from the second ad: \u201cOur economy once again is leading the nation. More British Columbians are working than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is the government ad and which one the BC Liberal Party ad?<\/p>\n

Hard to tell, isn\u2019t it? But only the second ad<\/a> features Clark\u2019s grinning face on screen and voice \u2013 That\u2019s the BC Liberal Party ad. The first<\/a> is a government ad promoting the B.C. budget.<\/p>\n

Try again. Here\u2019s the first ad: \u201cThe BC Jobs Plan \u2014 an all-out effort to support private sector job creation. Startups, small businesses, international brands: All of them are creating thousands of jobs, right here at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the second: \u201cAshley is one of thousands of job makers across the province helping make B.C. Canada\u2019s strongest economy… B.C.\u2019s a great place to grow a business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stumped? The first is a BC Liberal Party ad<\/a> \u2014 once again with Clark\u2019s Cheshire cat smile; the second<\/a> is a taxpayer-funded B.C. government ad, featuring a Kelowna business owner.<\/p>\n

The BC Liberal Party ad ran last Saturday nine minutes after the first government ad \u2014 and you will see far more of both. On Friday, Global BC\u2019s 6 p.m. news featured three different B.C. government ads among 23 full 30-second commercials \u2014 average cost per commercial, about $2,700. On March 6 there were four government and one BC Liberal Party ads.<\/p>\n

Ontario banned such obviously partisan government ads in 2004 \u2014 until that province\u2019s Liberal government changed the legislation in 2015, against the strong objections of the independent Auditor General, and began running the same kind of self-serving advertising that Clark is bombarding us with today.<\/p>\n

\u201cOntarians have in the last year paid millions of dollars for advertising designed primarily to present the government in a positive light rather than to inform,\u201d said the province\u2019s Auditor General\u2019s report<\/a> in 2016 \u2014 and the same is true here.<\/p>\n

Countries like the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand have adopted government advertising guidelines<\/a> to prohibit partisan ads \u2014 and the BC New Democrats have twice proposed<\/a> similar legislation that was quickly rejected by the BC Liberals.<\/p>\n

And for obvious reasons, because the B.C. government budget ad is full of self-promotion that is both unnecessary and political.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting with a 50-per-cent cut in MSP premiums for middle class families, the first step to eliminating premiums altogether. Your family could save up to $900 a year. Find out more at gov.bc.ca. Our opportunity is here,\u201d it concludes.<\/p>\n

But it does not state that many families will see no savings, because almost all unionized workers have their MSP paid by their employer, as do many non-union workers. Or that if the MSP premium cut is made up with a future income tax or other increase, those workers who are currently covered will be paying more, not less.<\/p>\n

Nor does the ad\u2019s voiceover state that the savings \u2014 if any apply \u2014 will only come in January 2018 (though that date is on a text line in the ad).<\/p>\n

Another B.C. government TV ad is equally partisan.<\/p>\n

The ad<\/a> is titled \u201cOur Plan: Housing Affordability,\u201d with the B.C. government logo prominent to start, followed by a voiceover: \u201cB.C.\u2019s Plan On Housing means we\u2019re taking concrete steps to help \u2014 like investing $855 million in affordable rental homes for people who need them most.\u201d And of course it features smiling happy people and their homes.<\/p>\n

First, this ad comes from a government that watched while Metro Vancouver housing prices skyrocketed by 32 per cent a year while foreign buyers gobbled up residential property \u2014 and did absolutely nothing as affordable housing disappeared for renters and local owners alike.<\/p>\n

Second, there is no value in the government blowing money on advertising that could help get rental homes for \u201cpeople who need them most.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the same B.C. government that steadfastly refused to act<\/a> when foreign nationals were responsible<\/a> for an estimated one-third of home sales in 2015 is now claiming credit for finally closing the barn door after the horse is long gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019ve also introduced a 15-per-cent tax on foreign home buyers to put British Columbians first,\u201d the ad continues without blushing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(above photo of Christy Clark visiting retirement home called Westwood)<\/p>\n

Government\u2019s Ad Spree Grabs Your Money to Promote BC Liberal Election Campaign<\/p>\n

read more <\/a><\/p>\n

If the barrage of B.C. government and BC Liberal ads weren\u2019t enough, wait, there\u2019s more. A pro-BC Liberal business group called Future Prosperity BC<\/a> has a $2-million budget to trash BC New Democratic Party leader John Horgan \u2014 and their ads<\/a> run immediately after some of the B.C. government ads on Global BC\u2019s News Hour at 6 p.m. \u2014 usually two ads per hour.<\/p>\n

Future Prosperity BC is fronted by former BC Chamber of Commerce president John Winter, a BC Liberal stalwart, and Jim Laurence, former chair of the Independent Contractors and Business Association of BC \u2014 an anti-union organization that has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the BC Liberal Party, as well as run its own attack ads on the BC NDP in previous elections.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the government ads that rankle the most, because there should be no question they are completely partisan and should not be allowed to air anytime, let alone with an election in eight weeks!<\/p>\n

But Christy Clark doesn\u2019t care \u2014 and she thinks you don\u2019t either.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps the BC Liberals are taking a big risk because their polling makes them very nervous and they need to spend millions in taxpayers\u2019 money to pump up Clark \u2014 even though voters could make them pay for it on Election Day.<\/p>\n

Read more: BC Election 2017<\/a>, BC Politics<\/a>, Media<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBut Christy Clark doesn\u2019t care \u2014 and she thinks you don\u2019t either.\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spot the Difference: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 BC Liberal Campaign TV Spot, \u00a0 \u00a0or \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Taxpayer-Funded \u2018Government\u2019 Ad? BC Premier Christy Clark is spending millions on government-paid political propaganda. By\u00a0Bill Tieleman\u00a0 wrote in TheTyee.ca Bill Tieleman is a former NDP (New Democrat Party) strategist whose clients include unions and businesses in the resource and public…","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-larrynorton","post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","no-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8bppg-5I","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358,"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions\/358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nortonspeaks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}