PC spent 53 cents on ads for every dollar spent to run an apprenticeship program
原始发布日期： 2016-02-11 发布者：李方字变大 字变小
Conservatives spent 53 cents on ads for every dollar they spent to run an apprenticeship loan program
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, greets heavy duty mechanical trade students before announcing the apprentice loan program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology Annacis Island Campus in Delta, B.C., on Thursday January 8, 2015. The Conservatives spent nearly half as much promoting the program as they did running it. 
The Conservative government came under fire from opposition for spending tens of millions of dollars on various marketing campaigns touting its economic policies as well as some that allege it is “protecting the environment” and promoting “responsible” development of natural resources. OTTAWA — A new report shows that for every dollar the Conservative government budgeted for its marquee job-training program, it spent 53 cents advertising it in the first year. Newly released details of the previous government’s 2014-15 advertising budget show that spending on ads linked to the economic action plan outpaced any other campaign. The TV, radio, Internet and print ads for the Canada apprentice loan program came in at $6.7 million, one of the Ottawa’s most expensive campaigns. The loan program, first announced in the 2014 budget, was estimated to cost $12.6 million annually in the first two years. But government forecasts pegged the overall cost of the program at $7.4 million a year over a decade — meaning the first year of advertising might have wound up costing nearly as much as the net cost of a single year of loans. The NDP complained to the Advertising Standards Canada about the ads in early 2015, arguing they were misleading. The TV voiceover said that over “the next decade, one million skilled tradesmen and women will be needed to keep Canada’s growing economy strong.” The New Democrats argued the number was not supported by any independent statistics or estimates. Other ads about the Conservative government’s economic action plan cost $8.1 million in 2014-15. Opposition critics argued the government was spending taxpayers’ money on ads that were closely linked to the party brand. Other big-ticket ad buys included $8.6 million on military recruitment and $7.1 million on anti-drug spots. The Liberals promised during the election to ban “partisan” government ads, and pledged to appoint an advertising commissioner to review proposed campaigns. (Calgary Herald) |