Harper photos removed from government website
Only a half-dozen of PM's 40 or more photos survive the cut after boosterism accusations
Sep 22, 2009 04:30 AM
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA–The Government of Canada website set up to promote the Conservative economic action plan had a leaner look yesterday: more than 30 photos of Prime Minister Stephen Harper had been removed.
Critics have complained that the website, actionplan.gc.ca, looks like a partisan promotion – complete with a Tory-blue colour scheme, glowing third-party testimonials, more than 40 photos of Harper and repeated references to "the Harper government" rather than the Government of Canada.
Published reports have highlighted the $34-million budget for promoting the economic plan.
A story by The Canadian Press, published in the Star yesterday, noted that the $34-million budget for promoting the economic plan dwarfs the federal budget provided for informing Canadians about swine flu prevention as the flu season starts.
Non-partisan public service ads on preventing the spread of the H1N1 virus began airing yesterday. The Public Health Agency of Canada picked up the $2 million tab.
The latest TV ads promoting the stimulus package, part of a $34-million campaign, cost $5 million, and include Conservative-friendly tag lines such as "We can't stop now."
Rules on government advertising say it is to be non-partisan and not promote any party or individual.
There are also rules on government branding, including using the word Canada in any department or agency name, or including Government of Canada in close proximity.
References to the "Harper government" remained on the website yesterday. But photos of the Prime Minister were reduced to about seven, from the original 40-plus.
Ontario adopted a law in 2004 in an effort to prevent partisanship in taxpayer-funded provincial government ads. The rules include barring any images of the premier in government-paid promotions.
On Sunday, a PCO spokeswoman defended the Harper photos on the website, writing by email that "(Harper) is the chief spokesperson in the Government of Canada for the (action plan)."
Further written questions to the Privy Council Office about government policy on advertising received no immediate response yesterday.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
On Patronage and Senate Appointments
Last updated at 8:29 AM on 14/09/09
Cheers & Jeers
CHEERS & JEERS
The Telegram
Jeers: to the continuing effort to fight patronage - by stuffing more of your own party members into federal jobs. Fresh from packing the Senate with cronies of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Tories have named a former Conservative cabinet minister to head the Federal Court of Appeal. And right on the heels of Harper being caught on videotape complaining about the Liberals appointing their own to the courts when they were in power. Apparently, it's not really hypocrisy when you're doing it yourself.
.................................................................................
dgb...
Ethics and integrity, transparency and accountability, congruence -- saying what you mean, and meaning what you say: all of these are 'election buzz words' that prospective leaders use all the time to try to seduce the public into giving them a shot at power.
Pessimism, cynicism, hyprocrisy, and narcissism often become the 'public sentiment and buzz words' after these former 'supposedly charging political idealists' actually take office for a year or less and start withering into complacency, entropy, and narcissistic consolidation.
In Canada -- and probably to a greater or lesser extent in America too -- ethics seems to be something that is largely left outside the Prime Minister's (President's) door as other more politically pragmatic characteristics seem to take priority.
Election promises are 'forgotten'. No more 'Senate Reform'. Just 'load the Senate with your own'.
As power increases, personal and party ethics tends to decrease while personal and party narcissism tends to increase. Such is the nature of politics and, indeed, seemingly any rise to more and more unbridled power.
Thus, the need for more and more journalist and philosophical candor -- to show how pre-election 'ethical idealism' changes to 'partisan righteous-narcissistic ideology' based solely on being either out of power, looking in, or in power, looking out.
-- dgb, Sept. 15th, 2009.
-- David Gordon Bain
Cheers & Jeers
CHEERS & JEERS
The Telegram
Jeers: to the continuing effort to fight patronage - by stuffing more of your own party members into federal jobs. Fresh from packing the Senate with cronies of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Tories have named a former Conservative cabinet minister to head the Federal Court of Appeal. And right on the heels of Harper being caught on videotape complaining about the Liberals appointing their own to the courts when they were in power. Apparently, it's not really hypocrisy when you're doing it yourself.
.................................................................................
dgb...
Ethics and integrity, transparency and accountability, congruence -- saying what you mean, and meaning what you say: all of these are 'election buzz words' that prospective leaders use all the time to try to seduce the public into giving them a shot at power.
Pessimism, cynicism, hyprocrisy, and narcissism often become the 'public sentiment and buzz words' after these former 'supposedly charging political idealists' actually take office for a year or less and start withering into complacency, entropy, and narcissistic consolidation.
In Canada -- and probably to a greater or lesser extent in America too -- ethics seems to be something that is largely left outside the Prime Minister's (President's) door as other more politically pragmatic characteristics seem to take priority.
Election promises are 'forgotten'. No more 'Senate Reform'. Just 'load the Senate with your own'.
As power increases, personal and party ethics tends to decrease while personal and party narcissism tends to increase. Such is the nature of politics and, indeed, seemingly any rise to more and more unbridled power.
Thus, the need for more and more journalist and philosophical candor -- to show how pre-election 'ethical idealism' changes to 'partisan righteous-narcissistic ideology' based solely on being either out of power, looking in, or in power, looking out.
-- dgb, Sept. 15th, 2009.
-- David Gordon Bain
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
