Jump to full article: Ottawa (Ont) Sun, 2006-07-04
Author: ANTONELLA ARTUSO
Intro: The Dalton McGuinty Liberals have channelled millions of taxpayer dollars into the Heart and Stroke Foundation's media campaigns which endorse the government's own smoking law.
The $3.17-million "Smoke-Free Ontario" campaigns were completely financed by provincial taxpayers, but were exempted from Liberal legislation requiring government advertising be vetted by the provincial auditor to avoid partisan messaging.
The ads -- which featured the tagline, "A Smoke-Free Ontario. It's about health. It's about time." -- ran throughout the period when the Liberal government's Smoke-Free Ontario Act was coming into effect this spring.
Conservative Leader John Tory said the Liberal government was clearly searching for a "back door" to get around its own ban on partisan government advertising.
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