Pandemic advertising by the Trudeau government will total no less than $120 million, despite news outlets providing information for free to readers and at no additional cost to taxpayers.
Ken MacKillop of the Privy Council Office said ads were effective in getting "the news to Canadians," saying: “We are likely to spend about $120 million in advertising from the government this year," using the ads to "actually get the news to Canadians,” according to Blacklock's Reporter.
That figure easily surpasses last year's federal advertising budget of $58.6 million, according to the Annual Report on Government of Canada Advertising Activities. MacKillop added that $2.9 million was being used for the Privy Council Office COVID-19 Response Team.
While MacKillop credited the government's ads with promoting social distancing, Conservative MP Kelly McCauley pointed out that Canadians would receive this information, for free, without the government's massive advertising budget.
“It’s a lot of money, and everyone knows about social distancing. Everyone knows there is Covid going on. Do you find it justifiable to spend the $50 million on something every single person knows about?"
She went on to say that "I think because it’s on the news cycle 24 hours a day. I’m asking, do you think this is a fair use of taxpayers’ money to advertise about something that every single person in the entire world knows is going on right now" asked McCauley.
MacKillop responded: “I do think it’s worth the money to advertise to Canadians on health and safety and what we’re asking them to do. Again, the virus has been unpredictable.”
Federal advertising costs continue to skyrocket, as last year's election-year advertising saw a 49 percent increase "over the previous year’s $39.2 million ad budget."
Join and support independent free thinkers!
We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.
Remind me next month
To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy
