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“How many services would this government be able to provide to British Columbians if it cut back on the propaganda and started delivering programs?” Horgan said in the legislature at the time.

Now in power, the NDP budget last month projected approximately $11 million in central government advertising for the coming fiscal year, not counting Crown corporations like ICBC and Hydro.

The NDP in opposition three times tabled private member’s legislation that would have required government advertising to first get the approval of the independent Auditor General as non-partisan and factual. “We’ll start by ending waste on Christy Clark’s partisan government ads,” read the party’s 2017 election platform. “We’ll work with the auditor general to set strong standards for advertising spending.”

James said involving the auditor general is still being considered as one possibility. “We haven’t made a determination about what the best route is yet, but we’re still looking at that,” she said.

Liberal house leader Mary Polak said the ad spending and quiet backtrack away from the auditor general is another example of the NDP failing to deliver on its election promises. “That was a pretty clear commitment from them,” said Polak. “If they wanted them to vet ads they could be doing it already. They said it was a good idea, why would it suddenly not be when they are in government?”

Hydro’s advertising includes a TV and social media campaign involving a bearded energy conservation enthusiast who helps residents save electricity by showing them tricks, such as putting a towel in the dryer with their wet clothes to speed up drying time.