Ten federal agencies last year paid a national broker almost $577,000 to distribute newspaper stories ghostwritten by government employees. The payments came as Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly lamented “fake news” in Canada. Joly’s office yesterday did not comment.
Records show agencies paid $576,623 in seventeen separate contracts to News Canada Inc., a Toronto-based broker that distributes “ready-to-use, timely lifestyle content that is free of charge and copyright”, according to a management statement. Unsigned stories were identified only as “News Canada” content. Blacklock’s found weeklies from Alberta to Québec that republished items without any advisory they were written by communications staff with government departments and agencies.
Examples included Achieve Your Long-Term Financial Goals With Your Home Equity, a story placed by the Financial Consumer Agency advising homeowners on how to apply to banks for lines of credit. The item did not disclose the federal Agency draws 77 percent of its $17.6 million annual budget from banks and other lenders.
Pesticides In Canada, a story written by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, told readers: “When used properly, you can be assured there is no risk to human health or the environment.” The story failed to note ongoing Agency reviews of three common neonicotinoid pesticides regulators have cited as environmentally toxic.
Debunking The Latest Health Fads And Myths, a News Canada item ghostwritten by the health department, said: “If you think cannabis can help relieve symptoms you are experiencing, talk to your doctor about cannabis for medical purposes”. A separate Health Canada story Teaching Your Kids To Make Healthy Choices advised readers to “start having conversations” about cannabis with children as young as 12. Neither story identified Health Canada as the author or co-sponsor of legislation to legalize marijuana.
Full article: Blacklocks.ca