PARLIAMENT—Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s top Cabinet ministers, including heavyweight political ministers for the provinces and major cities, were fanning out Thursday night and Friday in their fleet of Challenger executive jets to begin selling the federal budget before the opposition parties had a chance to leave the starting gate.
While the government issued a string of news releases announcing morning news appearances and speeches by Cabinet ministers from Vancouver through to the Atlantic provinces, opposition MPs and media reporting on the budget were in lockup mode poring over the documents.
Opposition MPs—pointing to $21-million the Conservative government spent on splashy advertising for its 2011 Economic Action Plan budget, the latest figure available—said the ministerial travel is a waste of tax dollars.
“The propaganda machine is going to be working overtime,” Liberal leader Bob Rae (Toronto Centre, Ont.) told reporters after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (Whitby-Oshawa, Ont.) tabled his “Roots budget”—dubbed after the brand of shoes he selected to buy in a traditional pre-budget stunt the previous day.
“Now the sales campaign will start, we expect that,” Mr. Rae said.
The high-flying sales campaign was set to begin on the West Coast at 8: a.m., when, one of the news releases said, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, B.C.) was scheduled to “highlight the benefits of Economic Action Plan 2013” during an appearance at the Delta Burnaby Hotel in Burnaby, B.C.
Minister of State for Seniors Alice Wong (Richmond, B.C.) was scheduled to push the budget at a breakfast meeting of the Ethno Business Council of British Columbia at 9:20 a.m. in Vancouver.
Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose (Edmonton-Spruce Grove, Alta.) was scheduled to promote at 10 a.m. during a tour of the General Dynamics Land Systems plant in Edmonton, while Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver (Eglinton-Lawrence, Ont.) was responsible for the Greater Toronto Area, with a 12:50 p.m. speech to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
As of 5 p.m., a dozen Cabinet ministers were slotted for morning appearances to pitch the latest Economic Action Plan, including Indian Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt (Madawaska-Restigouche, N.B.) in New Brunswick, Trade Minister Ed Fast (Abbotsford, B.C.), also touting the budget on the West Coast, and Minister of State for Finance Ted Menzies (Macleod, Alta.) in Calgary.
Both Environment Minister Peter Kent (Thornhill, Ont.) and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) were scheduled to promote the budget together with related announcements in Mr. Nicholson’s Niagara Falls electoral district.
Mr. Flaherty launched the public relations campaign with his budget speech in the House of Commons before departing for a ministerial trip to Asia, beginning in Hong Kong, and foregoing the traditional finance minister’s budget-pitch tour within Canada.
“What I find astonishing is that this is the very thing they said they would not do before they got into government,” Liberal MP Scott Simms (Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor, Nfld.) told The Hill Times.
“They want to sell the budget, and that’s fine, but to do this, the cost involved, we’re into another multi-million-dollar advertising campaign over the same slogan,” he said.
“If you’ve got so many ministers trying to sell this, that means it’s bad news for a lot of people,” Mr. Simms said.
Conservative MP Gerald Keddy (South Shore-St. Margaret’s, N.S.) defended the costly cross-Canada sales pitch.
“There is always a responsibility for everyone, you know, and for Scott Simms to say somehow that ministers are just simply delivering a political message is a little disingenuous, in all honesty,” Mr. Keddy said.
“He’ll be out talking about the budget. He’ll be talking to his local papers the same way that I will be, and the local radio stations, and the local media, because we have a responsibility to do that,” Mr. Keddy said.
Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author: TIM NAUMETZ
While the government issued a string of news releases announcing morning news appearances and speeches by Cabinet ministers from Vancouver through to the Atlantic provinces, opposition MPs and media reporting on the budget were in lockup mode poring over the documents.
Opposition MPs—pointing to $21-million the Conservative government spent on splashy advertising for its 2011 Economic Action Plan budget, the latest figure available—said the ministerial travel is a waste of tax dollars.
“The propaganda machine is going to be working overtime,” Liberal leader Bob Rae (Toronto Centre, Ont.) told reporters after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (Whitby-Oshawa, Ont.) tabled his “Roots budget”—dubbed after the brand of shoes he selected to buy in a traditional pre-budget stunt the previous day.
“Now the sales campaign will start, we expect that,” Mr. Rae said.
The high-flying sales campaign was set to begin on the West Coast at 8: a.m., when, one of the news releases said, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, B.C.) was scheduled to “highlight the benefits of Economic Action Plan 2013” during an appearance at the Delta Burnaby Hotel in Burnaby, B.C.
Minister of State for Seniors Alice Wong (Richmond, B.C.) was scheduled to push the budget at a breakfast meeting of the Ethno Business Council of British Columbia at 9:20 a.m. in Vancouver.
Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose (Edmonton-Spruce Grove, Alta.) was scheduled to promote at 10 a.m. during a tour of the General Dynamics Land Systems plant in Edmonton, while Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver (Eglinton-Lawrence, Ont.) was responsible for the Greater Toronto Area, with a 12:50 p.m. speech to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
As of 5 p.m., a dozen Cabinet ministers were slotted for morning appearances to pitch the latest Economic Action Plan, including Indian Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt (Madawaska-Restigouche, N.B.) in New Brunswick, Trade Minister Ed Fast (Abbotsford, B.C.), also touting the budget on the West Coast, and Minister of State for Finance Ted Menzies (Macleod, Alta.) in Calgary.
Both Environment Minister Peter Kent (Thornhill, Ont.) and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) were scheduled to promote the budget together with related announcements in Mr. Nicholson’s Niagara Falls electoral district.
Mr. Flaherty launched the public relations campaign with his budget speech in the House of Commons before departing for a ministerial trip to Asia, beginning in Hong Kong, and foregoing the traditional finance minister’s budget-pitch tour within Canada.
“What I find astonishing is that this is the very thing they said they would not do before they got into government,” Liberal MP Scott Simms (Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor, Nfld.) told The Hill Times.
“They want to sell the budget, and that’s fine, but to do this, the cost involved, we’re into another multi-million-dollar advertising campaign over the same slogan,” he said.
“If you’ve got so many ministers trying to sell this, that means it’s bad news for a lot of people,” Mr. Simms said.
Conservative MP Gerald Keddy (South Shore-St. Margaret’s, N.S.) defended the costly cross-Canada sales pitch.
“There is always a responsibility for everyone, you know, and for Scott Simms to say somehow that ministers are just simply delivering a political message is a little disingenuous, in all honesty,” Mr. Keddy said.
“He’ll be out talking about the budget. He’ll be talking to his local papers the same way that I will be, and the local radio stations, and the local media, because we have a responsibility to do that,” Mr. Keddy said.
Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author: TIM NAUMETZ
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