Remember all those feel good ads last year. Gordon Campbell said he wouldn't do them. I know the arguement has been "all governments do this" yet Campbell went beyond just saying this was wrong. He said ...
"They (people of BC) do think, in British Columbia at least, that we are going to give you some money, you people who are running for office and we want you to provide us with a health care system we can count on. That is what your job is. It's not to advertise it." - Gordon Campbell speaking to the HEU Guardian 2001
HEU Guardian: Are you making a commitment to end all government advertising?
Gordon Campbell: No, I 'm not making that commitment. But I can tell you this, we are going to end government feel-good advertising. All that government needs to do is provide you with information. Let me give you an example. You don't have to tell someone if they are sick to go to the hospital or to go to their doctor. People are smarter than that. They know that. They are probably a lot smarter than the government. So I 'm not going to run ads saying what a great job we are doing in health care or what a bad job someone else is doing.
People don't want to see us use their money for that. When I look at how much money government spends on advertising -- not just provincially here but federally -- I think people are appalled by that. It's not where they want their dollars to go. They do think, in British Columbia at least, that we are going to give you some money, you people who are running for office and we want you to provide us with a health care system we can count on. That is what your job is. It's not to advertise it.
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