The Conservative government, careful guardians of the public purse, spent over $2.5 million publicizing a job grants program that doesn’t even exist yet.
Although blowing money on promoting the government’s economic agenda is hardly new for the Tories, the advertising usually at least relates to real programs and policies. The Canada Job Grant, however, is still only a twinkle in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s eye since it requires provincial approval to become reality. So far, that hasn’t happened.
The ads ran last spring on the radio and during CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, one of the most expensive TV advertising slots in Canada. The ad buy also got placement “on popular internet sites like YouTube and MuchMusic.”
Advertising Standards Canada, the national advertising regulator, ultimately deemed the ads to be misleading.
So what happened to all those unemployed people who saw the Canada Job Grants program as their way back to work? Well, turns out almost nobody paid attention to them.
According to Postmedia, a poll found that despite the publicity blitz, 85 per cent of respondents had never seen the spots. Only five per cent of people who saw the ads did anything as a result, such as visiting the website or calling the government’s help line — not that using those government resources would have done much for job seekers anyway because, again, there is no Canada Job Grants program.
[via CBC | Postmedia]