Roundup: Partisan government tweets

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The government continues their questionable communications strategies, as they are now asking federal departments to tweet favourable messages about the government’s new “family tax cut” programmes using hashtags like #StrongFamilies. You know, a slogan that Harper debuted at a party event back in the summer. And these tax measures? Not actually adopted by Parliament yet, so advertising about them is premature (not that it stopped them with the Canada Job Grant, and they’re doing TV ads already on the basis of these unapproved tax measures). Despite what Tony Clement will tell you about how this is important messaging from the government to let people know about their new programmes, it all smacks of partisan advertising – just like those terrible marijuana ads that use torqued and demonstrably false claims (like 400 percent stronger marijuana). Getting public servants to start bombarding social media with these kinds of partisan messages further degrades the neutrality of the civil service, and shows the government to be treating it as their own personal ad agency, which they should not be doing.

Good reads:

  • Stephen Fletcher tells more about his health challenges and his quest for right-to-die legislation (though I think some of his procedural gambits deserve a red flag).
  • Chris Selley remarks about moral panics and due process with the Hill harassment allegations. Of course when Senator Campbell, who was with the RCMP and a Vancouver coroner, makes similar remarks, NDP MPs fall back on Senate abolition nonsense.
  • Here’s a good takedown of the idiocy of laws banning floor-crossings.
  • The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner warns MPs about accepting gift bags during lobby days on the Hill, as though this were the Oscars and they had anything more than pens and notepads in them.
  • Susan Delacourt lists the groups of Liberals who are on the outs with Justin Trudeau, but I’m not sure that all of these examples are comparable.
  • PSAC wants public servants to have a say in how cuts happen, and they want to introduce seniority over merit when it comes to determine who gets cut.
  • Consolidating cellphone contracts across the government has led to some $3.6 million in late fees while they try to get their acts together.
  • House of Commons administration was on track to cut $30 million in spending, before the need to review security happened.

Odds and ends:

Dean Del Mastro’s sentencing has been postponed until the end of January, while a Conservative party member admits to trying to vote twice in the last election.

Here’s the Ottawa Citizen’s Gargoyle roundup of stories.