Tories slammed for latest Economic Action Plan ad

We may have had our first glimpse at a federal election ad for the 2015 election.

No, this one isn’t brought to you by the Conservative Party or the NDP — it’s paid for by the taxpayers of Canada.

The Harper government has launched it’s latest Economic Action Plan ad promoting their suite of childcare tax credits.

Over the past several years, the Tories have spent millions of dollars on these ads that are supposed to promote government programs.

Critics, however, argue that they reek of political partisanship promoting nothing but the Conservative Party of Canada.

Canadians for Tax Fairness — a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization advocating for fair and progressive tax policies — suggests that these ones appear to be “thinly disguised electioneering.”

“These..ads push the limits on informing Canadians about government programs,” Dennis Howlett, executive director of the organization said in a press release noting that suite of child tax credits hasn’t even been approved by parliament.

“Perhaps an information campaign once a program has been approved - but until that happens it just shows a gross lack of respect for the process and for how are tax dollars are spent.”

Governments have been accused of using taxpayer money to fund political ads from time immemorial — or at least since the advent of television.

Critics, however, argue that the Tories have taken it to another level.

According to the Globe and Mail, the Conservative government has spent more than $100-million on Economic Action Plan ads since 2009.

The National Post reports that the next year’s budget to promote their Economic Action Plan is $12 million.

During the run-up to the election — when everyday Canadians start paying attention to politics — that $12 million can go a long way.

In Ontario, the auditor general has to sign-off on all government ad campaigns to ensure they’re non-partisan.

While there was a similar private members bill introduced in Ottawa — by the Liberals — no such federal legislation currently exists.

In other words, the level of partisanship in the ads is left to the discretion of our elected officials.

So while a lot of signs point to Liberal success in 2015, the Conservatives have some distinct advantages: they have a lot more money in their coffers than the other parties and they seemingly have creative control over government ads.

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