Health-system ads ‘propaganda,’ Swan says

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This article was published 17/05/2017 (3093 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba NDP is crying foul over the placement of media advertisements touting the Pallister government’s hospital reorganization plan during a byelection campaign.

The party has filed a complaint with the province’s commissioner of elections in protest of ads purchased by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

The ads have appeared on television during hockey games, in the Free Press and on social media, among other locations. The budget for the ad campaign is around $500,000.

Manitoba law forbids, with some exceptions, governments spending money on advertising during an election period. After the Pallister government called a byelection in Point Douglas on May 12, the ads continued to appear.

NDP MLA Andrew Swan said the WRHA ads are out of bounds because they are not directing Manitobans to a particular health service, such as where to get a flu shot.

“This is a piece of propaganda that is being used by the government to try to justify their dynamic and horrible changes to the health-care system,” he said.

Swan raised the issue in question period Wednesday. Afterward, Premier Brian Pallister promised to look into the matter.

“I don’t want anybody stepping outside of the rules,” he said. “We’ll get to the bottom of it… and then we’ll take steps to make sure it’s corrected as fast as possible, if there is a violation of any kind.”

A short time later, both the province and the WRHA issued statements saying the ad campaign, which began before the byelection call, has been suspended.

The WRHA said it sought advice from the province and its internal legal counsel on the continued placement of the ads last Friday, when the byelection was called. It was directed by the province Tuesday morning to pull the ads.

By then, print ads had already been produced for community papers, and the deadline to remove them, in some cases, had passed, the WRHA said. “All other ads are now out of the marketplace,” it said.

The province and the WRHA announced their controversial Winnipeg hospital reorganization plan April 7. It involves closing hospital emergency departments at Concordia, Seven Oaks and Victoria hospitals along with numerous other changes. The reforms are to be implemented in the next six to 24 months.

The ER closures have been especially controversial, sparking several protests.

Under Section 92 of the Election Finance Act, a government department or Crown agency must not advertise or publish any information about its programs or activities during an election period. Among the exceptions are ads that are required to be placed by law or that relate to important matters of public health or safety.

During its time in office, the NDP was found to have contravened the Act on several occasions.

In the leadup to the 2011 election, it invited media outlets for a tour of a new birthing centre that involved photo ops with a pair of cabinet ministers. During two byelections in 2013, the NDP breached the Act when it promoted an event celebrating the 98th anniversary of women’s suffrage at the same time two byelections were being held, the commissioner of elections ruled.

There were no consequences for the government in either case, other than any embarrassment caused by the commissioner’s ruling.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca