FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 29, 2002
Tory advertising topped $3.1 million for OPS strike
The Ontario government spent over $3.1 million to massage public opinion around the 54-day strike by Ontario Public Service employees earlier this year.
“Obviously this is money that could have been spent on rebuilding the public service by supporting front line workers,” said Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. “Unfortunately, this government’s modus operandi is usually not to solve problems but to spin them.”
The union received the information after filing a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The documents show the government spent over $2,409,621.36 on newspaper ads, $659,628.22 on radio ads, and $66,161.71 on related production costs.
Big discounts meant the government’s ad buy was worth over $4 million, said Casselman, equal to the legal limit a political party can spend on ads during a provincial election.
“Clearly, if you spend $250 million of taxpayers’ money on advertising over seven years, as this government has done, you can get a sizeable volume discount,” she said. “As a campaign, the Tories put our strike on a par with an all-out election campaign. The main difference is that in an election campaign they’re spending their own money, not
ours.”
The union spent a total of $932,053.75 on advertising prior to and during the strike.
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For more information:
David Cox (416) 443-8888 ext. 314
Paul Bilodeau (416) 443-8888 ext. 780
