Partisan hydro ads are paying off for Liberals

With an election on the horizon, Wynne needs good news

It appears all those taxpayer-funded ads about hydro rate cuts are finally paying off for Premier Kathleen Wynne.

A new government-commissioned poll suggests that the still unpopular Liberals are somewhat less unloved than they were several months ago, and the turning point appears to have been cuts to consumer electricity bills.

The poll, obtained by The Canadian Press through a Freedom of Information request, found that back in January 61 per cent of respondents said the government was off the mark. By July, that number had dropped to 49 per cent.

That may not be exactly super-duper news for the Liberals but, with the 2018 election campaign a mere eight months away, any ray of sunshine helps.

The poll found solid public support for the $15-minimum wage and the principle of the government’s cap-and-trade system.

But the pivotal moment came in March when the government announced it was reducing hydro bills by another 17 per cent on top of the eight per cent announced in January.

Since then, public opinion of the government’s handling of electricity pricing has steadily improved, with 44 per cent of respondents giving it thumbs-up in July compared to 34 per cent in March.

The fact that an Ontario-wide advertising blitz promoting the cuts was unfolding at the same time is probably no coincidence. Hopefully, the fishy fact that taxpayers rather than the Liberal party are paying for those ads won’t be lost on voters.

Back in March, when the self-serving ads first began popping up on radio stations, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk said they probably would have been considered partisan and not approved by her office if the Liberals hadn’t changed the rules on government advertising in 2015.

The old rules banned ads that encouraged a positive view of government or a negative view of its critics. The new watered-down rules only ban ads if they use an elected member’s picture, name or voice, or the colour or logo associated with a political party.

Lysyk compared the hydro ads to “a paton-the-back type of advertising.”

It’s easy to see her point. One of the ads says: “Ontario has made important investments in clean, reliable energy. This has led to hydro bills that have become harder to pay. We’ve heard you and we’re taking action with the fair hydro plan.”

Who’s the “we” in “we’ve heard you” if not the Liberals? The subject came up during a recent Spectator editorial board meeting with Wynne. When asked about the “we’ve heard you” piece, Wynne weaved.

“Government is broader than the governing party,” she said. “Government is also the civil service and the people who implement the policies of government.”

If Wynne expects us to believe her government was following bureaucratic advice when they decided to cut hydro rates, her sunroof must be leaking.

What we’re plainly dealing with here is public money being used to boost the Liberal party’s popularity. Judging by their polling, it appears to be working.

To be fair, Wynne noted there weren’t any rules in place governing partisan ads when the Liberals came to power in 2003. So, yes, we can credit them with introducing curbs and controls. But why loosen those constraints?

Wynne said the rules were “modified” because “there was sense that the way they originally had been written they were actually constraining of government to give information.” She insisted the “core principle” that partisanship should not be part of government advertising is still in place.

Obviously, the auditor general begs to differ. Last year, Lysyk noted that among some $50-million worth of government ads in 2015-2016, she would have branded several misleading and self-congratulatory under the old rules.

Unfortunately, it’s not known how many tax dollars have been forked out for the hydro ads, which ended Aug. 13. But whatever the figure is, it’s a safe bet the Liberals consider it money well spent.