In a letter to James Gilbert, assistant deputy human resources minister, Advertising Standards Canada said it received more than 20 consumer complaints alleging the ad was “misleading.”
After reviewing the complaints, the council concluded the ad, which aired in May at prime time during the NHL playoffs and likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, indeed “omitted relevant information” contrary to the code.
But since the government withdrew the ad before the council hearing and promised it wouldn’t air in its “current form in the future,” the council said it would not identify the government in its next online “Ad Complaints Report.” The self-regulating body’s only remedy is to ask that an ad be changed or removed.
“The general impression conveyed by this commercial to council was that implementing this program was imminent; that the program would be in place immediately upon obtaining approval from only one level of government, the federal parliament. However, the program, which involves matching grants from employers and provinces/territories, requires prior agreement with, and buy-in from, those partners,” says the letter obtained by Postmedia News.
“In reality, the implementation of this program is not imminent, and the process of obtaining such agreement may well take a considerable length of time if, in fact, an accord with the provinces and territories is even possible.”
While the ad indicated the government would “partner” with business, provinces and territories as part of the program, the council added it “did not suggest to council that the program was conditional upon the support and participation of these associates, which is anything but certain.”
Alexandra Fortier, a spokeswoman for Employment Minister Jason Kenney who has assumed the jobs grant file, said the government has “addressed this administrative issue with the Advertising Standards Council” and that the “ads rotation ended several months ago.”
She maintains the government is committed to implementing the grant “in a timely manner.”
“The fact is that previous investments in skills training were not as effective as they could be, resulting in a skills mismatch with too many jobs without people and people without jobs,” she said.
During a meeting last month, however, 13 provincial and territorial leaders unanimously rejected the jobs grant proposal, saying it wouldn’t work and could damage existing efforts to help people find jobs.
At the time, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the program would remove some existing federal transfers and require $600 million in new provincial and territorial government spending. She also complained about a lack of consultation on the matter and raised concerns about implementing the program in the business sector. Quebec Premier Pauline Marois added her government should be allowed to withdraw from the program altogether.
The Canada Jobs Grant was the centrepiece of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s spring budget. He said it would provide up to 130,000 low-skilled workers and Canadians ineligible for Employment Insurance each year with $15,000 or more to retrain.
Under the proposal, the federal government would contribute up to $5,000 per person, while provinces and employers would be expected to at least match Ottawa’s portion, with the idea being that employers would hire those whose training they subsidize.
The $300 million initiative involves no new money and does remove some control the provinces currently have over employment services.
The money, however, is tied to labour market agreements with the provinces for job training and employment services that are due to expire next year and the new grant, to be introduced gradually over four years, would form the basis of new agreements that have yet to be negotiated. According to the budget, the provinces and territories would still get $200 million a year from the federal government to spend on other services like counselling and job search assistance.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Tobi Cohen
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