Tom Adams and Randal Marlin

March 18, 2002

Attention: Letters Editor and Publisher

Shame on the Globe and Mail for publishing disguised advocacy advertising in its six page “Special Supplement on Ontario’s New Electricity Market,” appearing in the Monday, March 11, 2002, issue.

Nowhere is there an indication in the “supplement” that the material mimicking journalistic content outside the ads was paid for and controlled by the advertisers. The authorship of the ads in the piece is clear but the authorship of the text is not disclosed. According to the office of the Energy Minister, the text was collaboratively developed by the government and the companies buying advertising space.

The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards states under Section 2 that “No advertisement shall be presented in a format or style which conceals its commercial intent.” It also states under 1(b) “Advertisements must not omit relevant information which, in the result, is deceptive.” Thirdly, section 1(f) states that the advertiser in an advocacy advertisement “must be clearly identified as the advertiser in either or both the audio or video portion of the advocacy advertisement.” All of these were violated in letter or spirit by the “supplement.”

The typeface in the text and headlines is so similar to the regular type used by the Globe and Mail that the reader could easily get the impression that the material was coming from a journalistic source. The customary statement “an advertising supplement” which normally appears is absent.

The material is presented as straightforward fact, but it really contains advocacy instead of facts on certain key issues. For example, the piece contains a bolded subhead claiming that “Customer protection is paramount.” Many actions by the Ontario government and its agencies have been directly contrary to the interests of ordinary consumers, including the decisions permitting 60 to 70 per cent distribution rate increases by local distribution utilities, the decision to cross-subsidize the transmission costs of heavy industrial users, and the government’s decision to break its promise to stop providing special electricity subsidies to heavy industry.

The “supplement” also relies on exaggerated claims. Jim Wilson, Ontario Minister of Energy, Science and Technology is quoted as saying that “$3-billion in new generation projects . . . have already been proposed by the private sector.” There is no acknowledgment in the material that with only a few exceptions, these projects have been substantially delayed and some may even be canceled.

Yours truly,

Tom Adams, Energy Probe, Executive Director
Randal Marlin, Carleton University
Adjunct Professor