Propaganda Accountability Act, 2001 Kormos, Peter — Bill 115 (37th Parliament, 3rd Session)

Bill 115, 37-3

Ontario — Bills

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Bill 115, Propaganda Accountability Act, 2001

Kormos, Peter

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[37] Bill 115 Original (PDF)

Bill 115 2001

An Act to amend

the Audit Act to require the

Provincial Auditor to evaluate

and report on the extent to

which government advertising

complies with guidelines

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative

Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Section 1 of the Audit Act is amended by

adding the following definition:

"government advertising" means a communication that,

(

a) is funded by the Government of Ontario, and

(

b) publicizes a policy, product, service or activity of the Government of

Ontario; ("publicité gouvernementale")

2. The Act is amended by adding the following

section:

Government advertising

9.1

(1) The Auditor shall evaluate,

on behalf of the Assembly and in such manner as the Auditor considers

necessary, the extent to which government advertising complies with the

guidelines set out in subsection (2).

Guidelines

(2) The following guidelines apply to government

advertising:

1. Government advertising should provide good value for money.

2. The cost of government advertising should be justifiable. The

Government of Ontario is accountable to the Assembly for the use it makes of

public funds for publicity, as for any other purpose.

3. Government advertising should deal with matters for which the

Government of Ontario has direct responsibility.

4. Government advertising should not be designed to promote or have the

effect of promoting the interests of the party forming the government.

5. Government advertising should not be personalized, should avoid

political slogans and should not directly attack the policies and opinions of

opposition parties or groups.

6. Government advertising should be accurate and factual, with comment and

analysis clearly distinguished from information as such. Pre-existing

policies, products, services and activities should not be presented as new

ones.

7. Government advertising should be objective and impartial.

8. When government advertising deals with issues on which there is no

consensus, both arguments and counter-arguments should be provided so that

public funds are not used to disseminate political party propaganda.

Recommendation

(3) If, in the Auditor's opinion, there is a contravention of

the guideline set out in paragraph 4 of subsection (2), the Auditor may

recommend that the party concerned reimburse the Consolidated Revenue Fund

for all or part of the cost of the government advertising that contravenes

the guideline.

3. (1) Subsection 12 (2) of the Act is

amended by adding the following clause:

(e.1) the evaluation of government advertising under

section 9.1;

(2) Section 12 of the Act is amended by adding the

following subsection:

Recommendation

(3) The annual report shall include any recommendations for

reimbursement made under subsection 9.1 (3).

Commencement

4. This Act comes into force on the day it receives

Royal Assent.

Short title

5. The

short title of this Act is the Propaganda

Accountability Act, 2001 .

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Audit Act to assign to the Provincial Auditor

the function of evaluating the extent to which government advertising

complies with stated guidelines (set out in subsection 9.1 (2) of the Act).

If the Auditor is of the opinion that government advertising is designed to

promote or has the effect of promoting the interests of the party forming the

government, he or she may recommend that the Consolidated Revenue Fund be

reimbursed for the cost. The evaluations and any recommendations are dealt

with in the Auditor's annual report.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

December 5, 2001

Ordered carried over from previous session

December 5, 2001

Carried over to next session

October 22, 2001

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

October

22, 2001

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent :

Coming into force :Royal Assent.

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 115, 37-3
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p37 s3 bill 115 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	2673d65fea1a02b7971b8661f9dc4e48ef7ab1ca

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (html).