OTTAWA—Surely, five months before election day, it’s time to pull the plug.

And then, after the vote, it is time to put a permanent end to the mind-numbing narcotic of gauzy good news from your government, the never-ending riff on our national anthem on your television screen, the omnipresent billboards that cast a shadow over every shovel and hole in the ground in this country, the partisan pro-government ads that pop up if you check Environment Canada’s website for a weather forecast.

The Conservatives have provided a national background Muzak of sloganeering and propaganda that aims to lull Canadians into a false sense that everything will be okay if you just vote for them.

They’re using your money to buy your vote.

There is a growing line of those seeking to put a stop to the Conservative soundtrack.

This week, former chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley told iPolitics that the partisan government ads should be stopped now because we are in a fixed election date period and ads that say ‘Here’s what I’m doing with your money’ don’t cut it.’’

A private member’s bill by Ottawa Liberal David McGuinty would establish an independent federal advertising commissioner reporting to the auditor general to weed out partisan government advertising.

It goes to second reading shortly after MPs return from next week’s break.

It will die, of course, when this session ends next month, but it is part of Liberal policy and it should be a vote-winner, even if Liberals used your money, just as the Conservatives do, for years when they were in government.

“That was then and this is now,’’ says McGuinty, channelling his best Jean Chrétien.

The Liberal plan is modelled after the acknowledged gold standard of non-partisan government advertising, the Ontario law established by McGuinty’s older brother, former premier Dalton McGuinty, in Ontario in 2004.

That a federal Liberal government, the heirs of the sponsorship scandal, would keep its hands away from the honey pot and not promote themselves engenders skepticism. New Democrats released documents last month showing Liberals spent $953.6 million on government ads between 1998 and 2006.

But if we take them at their word, there is a larger question. Why are their provincial cousins undermining them?

Ontario auditor general Bonnie Lysyk believes amendments to the Government Advertising Act proposed by Kathleen Wynne open the door to partisan ads in Ontario.

In other words, while most Canadians are reaching their breaking point and are drowning in Tory propaganda, Wynne is headed the other way.

Trudeau and McGuinty like to use words like “fine-tuning” and “modernizing” in characterizing the Wynne amendments.

Lysyk uses another word — “gutting.”

So major are the amendments, Lysyk imagines a television commercial with an actor proclaiming, “This government cares about me and my family. . . new tax cuts, new pension plan, new policies to protect the environment. These things are important to me, and this government gets it. . . not like those other guys.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Right now, Ontario government ads can inform the public of current or proposed government policies, programs or services, inform the public of its rights or responsibilities under a law, encourage or discourage social behaviour only if it is in the public interest and promotes the province.

The federal government should have the same rights in the areas of public health, public safety or time-sensitive programs that offer benefits.

But this government has spent $750 million blanketing you in Tory blue.

It has advertised programs before they existed. It has appropriated “Strong. Proud. Free” as an advertising slogan, but its genesis is considered a state secret and cannot be revealed for 20 years because Conservatives have deemed the matter one of cabinet confidence.

It is spending $13.5 million to advertise its budget — not to inform, but to promote.

It uses your money for its own partisan videos, endangering Canadian soldiers in the process of burnishing the Stephen Harper image.

David McGuinty says there are 9,800 Economic Action Plan billboards in this country, costing $29 million.

“At its core, this kind of advertising undermines the rules of fair play in our democratic system,’’ he says.

“Canadians believe the government thinks they’re stupid.’’

We are in a campaign period. The Conservatives have lots of money, having raised $6.3 million from 41,000 donors in the first three months of this year. That is more than the Liberals and New Democrats combined.

If they want to spend party money to sell their agenda, go ahead. They shouldn’t be allowed to use taxpayers’ money to do it as well.

Tim Harper is a national affairs writer. His column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. tharper@thestar.ca Twitter:@nutgraf1

Read more about: