"The final circle [of
Hell] is basically sitting in a room watching Canada Action Plan ads over and
over again on a loop."
Yeah, Rick Mercer really
does not like the new ad campaign from Canada's Conservative government. His
latest rant targets commercials promoting the government's new slate of
tax cuts, the largest of which will send cheques to Canadian parents on the eve
of the next federal election.
The measures have not yet
been approved by Parliament, but the government is airing the the ads now -- at
taxpayers' expense.
Mercer also takes issue with another
recent ad promoting government services for veterans. The CBC host has been
a regular critic of Conservative policy, attacking the
government for failing to show respect to veterans who criticize measures such
as closing support offices. He has also spoken out on allegations that injured soldiers were
booted from the Canadians Forces before becoming eligible for benefits.
The NDP has said it will
lodge a complaint with Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) about the ads for the
tax plan. Last year the ASC ruled that government ads for the Canada Jobs Grant
, which had also not been approved by Parliament (or the provinces), were
inaccurate and unclear. Both ad campaigns include a small print text disclaimer
at the end of the ads which reads "subject to parliamentary
approval."
Stephen Harper's government
has deployed ads under the Action Plan banner on a wide number of subjects
since the campaign debuted in the wake of the financial crisis. While Mercer
says the Tories are not the only government, past or present, to use such ads,
he says they have "turned it into a fine art."
"They have spent over
620 million tax dollars on such advertising since they’ve been elected.
Partisan advertising has become like doping in sports. Those who do it, defend
it. But we all know it’s designed to give one party an unfair edge. And we all
know it’s cheating."
Source: The Huffington Post.
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