No. 25 No 25 ISSN 1180-2987 Legislative Assembly Assemblée législative of Ontario de l’Ontario Fourth Session, 37th Parliament Quatrième session, 37e législature Official Report Journal of Debates des débats (Hansard) (Hansard) Thursday 12 June 2003 Jeudi 12 juin 2003 Speaker Président Honourable Gary Carr L’honorable Gary Carr Clerk Greffier Claude L. DesRosiers Claude L. DesRosiers Hansard on the Internet Le Journal des débats sur Internet Hansard and other documents of the Legislative Assembly L’adresse pour faire paraître sur votre ordinateur personnel can be on your personal computer within hours after each le Journal et d’autres documents de l’Assemblée législative sitting. The address is: en quelques heures seulement après la séance est : http://www.ontla.on.ca/ Index inquiries Renseignements sur l’index Reference to a cumulative index of previous issues may be Adressez vos questions portant sur des numéros précédents obtained by calling the Hansard Reporting Service indexing du Journal des débats au personnel de l’index, qui vous staff at 416-325-7410 or 325-3708. fourniront des références aux pages dans l’index cumulatif, en composant le 416-325-7410 ou le 325-3708. Copies of Hansard Exemplaires du Journal Information regarding purchase of copies of Hansard may Pour des exemplaires, veuillez prendre contact avec be obtained from Publications Ontario, Management Board Publications Ontario, Secrétariat du Conseil de gestion, Secretariat, 50 Grosvenor Street, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 50 rue Grosvenor, Toronto (Ontario) M7A 1N8. Par 1N8. Phone 416-326-5310, 326-5311 or toll-free téléphone : 416-326-5310, 326-5311, ou sans frais : 1-800-668-9938. 1-800-668-9938. Hansard Reporting and Interpretation Services Service du Journal des débats et d’interprétation 3330 Whitney Block, 99 Wellesley St W 3330 Édifice Whitney ; 99, rue Wellesley ouest Toronto ON M7A 1A2 Toronto ON M7A 1A2 Telephone 416-325-7400; fax 416-325-7430 Téléphone, 416-325-7400 ; télécopieur, 416-325-7430 Published by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Publié par l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario 1101 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE OF ONTARIO DE L’ONTARIO Thursday 12 June 2003 Jeudi 12 juin 2003 The House met at 1000. Premier, and certainly Premier Eves have said, “We’re Prayers. here to save money for the people of the province.” So I think it’s particularly galling, as the taxpayers’ federation mentioned, when it’s a government that was elected with PRIVATE MEMBERS’ that particular mantra. PUBLIC BUSINESS I noticed several kinds of advertising. First of all, television: it’s clear it’s an expensive buy. The govern- ment puts it on where it’s going to be seen the most, PREVENTING PARTISAN around newscasts. They must have been deeply saddened ADVERTISING ACT, 2003 that the Toronto Maple Leafs did not make it to the LOI DE 2003 VISANT À EMPÊCHER LA second or third round of the playoffs or to the finals, PUBLICITÉ À CARACTÈRE POLITIQUE because we would have seen them during that period of Mr Bradley moved second reading of the following time; no doubt about it. bill: Hon Jim Flaherty (Minister of Enterprise, Oppor- Bill 91, An Act to end government spending on tunity and Innovation): And other reasons. partisan advertising / Projet de loi 91, Loi mettant fin aux Mr Bradley: And other reasons. dépenses du gouvernement en matière de publicité à There are the health care ads, one spreading what I caractère politique. would call inaccurate information about how many The Acting Speaker (Mr Michael A. Brown): The nurses have been hired in the province, and another about member for St Catharines has up to 10 minutes for his the government’s efforts to recruit doctors and other pro- presentation. fessionals. They’re all using strategic messaging about Mr James J. Bradley (St Catharines): It would be how the government is, as they would say, making health an understatement to say that I have been somewhat care work for you. obsessed with the issue of government advertising for a Education: they have one that touts, in what I would number of years, and there’s a very good reason for that. say again is an inaccurate fashion, student testing results. I happen to believe that partisan, self-congratulatory Another promotes the government’s teacher testing re- advertising by any government is not a justified use of quirements, and another torques the government’s allo- taxpayers’ dollars. cation of funds for special-needs children, all using the What I am particularly offended by—and I think the strategic message, again, of helping kids learn. public is—is not the pamphlet the minister has in his or The opportunity bonds, which I think are reasonable to her office or some of the publications that go out to a few sell in this province, and the regular savings bonds, tout people. I’ve noticed in various ministries of economic the government’s supposed job creation record and inter- development over the years that there have been some national reputation rather than the actual bonds them- things with nine pictures of the minister and so on; I’m selves. not talking about those. What I’m talking about is the SARS: the 30-second TV ads running in border states virtual barrage of advertising on television. We’re hear- and beamed into Ontario, featuring our own Premier ing it on radio stations. We’re seeing it in newspapers, in Eves, at a cost of over $1 million. The West Nile virus full-page ads in some cases. We’re seeing it in ads—I want to say this because there is a reason for magazines. We’re getting pamphlets of this kind—I don’t providing information. Again, with the permission of the want to use a prop, but various kinds of pamphlets that members of the Legislature, and even without it, I’m show up at our houses. There are the road signs I look at, going to hold up an ad here. The reason I’m going to is which say, “Building Ontario Together: Ernie Eves, that I think it’s a good ad. This is an ad that talks about, Premier.” Even where there’s no construction work going “Ontario health update on severe acute respiratory syn- on, there are huge, expensive road signs. drome (SARS): make your family aware.” It is straight I think it’s an abuse for governments to do this, an information. You know at the bottom where the gov- abuse of public office. I think it’s an abuse of the tax- ernment always puts, “Making health care work for payers. It’s particularly galling, I guess, to those of us on you”? They don’t have that. This is what I call reasonable this side when we look at a government that was elected information provided to the public of Ontario. to save taxpayers money. That was one of the thrusts this I noticed that in the radio ads, once the government government had. Both Premier Harris, when he was thought it had SARS licked, they started to say, “Here’s 1102 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO 12 JUNE 2003 what your government is doing,” and the same thing with House that we should end this. It should be put outside, West Nile virus. It’s quite legitimate for the government as it is in Britain—there’s an objective observer in to say what people should do out there: to give the cau- Britain who vets the advertising and makes decisions on tion and provide the information. But on every occasion, it. I saw a CBC program a couple of years ago. I think it this government—and it’s not necessarily the members of showed Ontario government ads. The person who was the Legislature; it’s the whiz kids in the backrooms who reviewing the ads in Britain said these would never pass say, “This is what you’re supposed to do.” in Britain because they were clearly ads which were there The government has spent, they admit, over $401 to promote the government. million on government advertising. I’m not even quarrel- Even when the government is advertising in the ling with that, because I think that in this particular year, United States, they advertise on border stations. The with the special emergency circumstances, there is a message is, “Invest in Ontario.” Is that a reasonable legitimate buy to be made. What I’m objecting to is the message? Yes, it is. But it’s funny that it’s not a message nature of the media-wide advertising that I see in the that’s going into Kentucky or Arkansas or Texas. It’s a province. message which is in the border states, immediately I’m rather interested in the fact that we have these adjacent to Ontario, so that people in Ontario will see the householders, we have newspaper ads, we have the ads and it will make them feel good about the province of glossy inserts—I think everybody remembers the very Ontario. glossy 30-page insert about SuperBuild in Maclean’s In my view, I agree with the many editorials out there. magazine. All it was, again, was a self-congratulatory The Owen Sound Times says: “Can we get some stricter message to the people of this province, which I think controls on government advertising—or as it should be annoyed a lot of people. That money could be better used called—propaganda ... Currently the Tories are in power, for programs such as health care, education, the environ- they’re behind in the polls and an election is looming.