PCs take stand against hydro ads

Critics say advertisements are premature and appear promotional for Liberals

The Progressive Conservatives are stepping up the fight against the Wynne government’s radio ads about a promised 25-per-cent cut to skyrocketing hydro rates this summer.

Deputy PC Leader Sylvia Jones has introduced a private members’ bill that would restore auditor general Bonnie Lysyk’s power to veto government ads if they are judged to be partisan.

Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal administration “gutted” that veto power in 2015, turning the auditor into “little more than a rubber stamp,” Jones told a news conference Wednesday.

“If the Liberal party wants to spend money promoting their policies, have at it,” she said. “But this is taxpayers’ money that should be going to important issues.”

Energy Minister Glen Thibeault has said less than $1 million has been spent on the radio and social media ad campaign so far, but more ads are planned.

Jones said the money would be better spent warning people about the deadly opioid and fentanyl crisis that is resulting in overdoses among drug users or telling Ontarians how to recognize signs young women have been victimized by human traffickers.

Former premier Dalton McGuinty brought in the Government Advertising Act in 2004 to make sure partisan ads that had appeared during the preceding Progressive Conservative administration could not be repeated.

But by 2015, some Liberals were saying privately that the law and auditor’s veto was too strict and tied the government’s hands.

Changes were brought in defining an ad as partisan if it contains the name, voice or image of a member of cabinet or an MPP — unless the primary audience for the ad is outside Ontario. Ads also cannot contain the name or logo of a recognized political party or “to a significant degree, a colour associated with the governing party, unless the item commonly appears in that colour.”

Wynne defended the ads during an appearance at a west-end high school Wednesday morning, saying they are important to “make sure that people know” about the pending hydro rate cut.

The hydro ads also point citizens to a government website where they can learn about other programs to help low-income people with more assistance on their hydro bills.

Ontario is “the only government in the country that has legislation in place to prevent partisan advertising,” Wynne added.

New Democrats have joined Conservatives in criticizing the ads, saying they are improper for two reasons — because the government has not yet introduced legislation on the hydro rate cut, and because they are promotional with an election looming in June 2018.

It’s not “get your flu shot” or “be a donor” of your organs at death, said Jones, who noted the government ads have been running in conjunction with flyers the Liberals have handed out boasting of the rate cuts.

While the private members’ bill by Jones is unlikely to pass, she reiterated a promise party leader Patrick Brown made last week that a PC government would restore the auditor general’s veto powers if elected next year. New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath has pledged to do the same.

“This is taxpayers’ money that should be going to important issues.” SYLVIA JONES DEPUTY PC LEADER