Ottawa : half of the advertising budget on Google and Facebook

Photo AFP

VAT New

Thursday, 1 February 2018 18:35

UPDATE
Thursday, 1 February 2018 18:38

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The federal liberals have spent more than half of their advertising budget on Google and Facebook in 2017, and it is not the case of the opposition.

The federal government has conducted 107 advertising campaigns last year for a total budget of 36 million dollars.

What has changed a lot over the years, this is the type of media chosen to disseminate these messages.

The radio stations, newspapers and tv networks has significantly decreased, while that of digital media has exploded and now represents more than half of the advertising expenses from the federal government, or 54 %.

“We use all the approaches for communicating with people and it is important to make it like a modern government,” says Scott Brison, who chairs the Treasury Board.

The problem is that the large amounts of advertising Ottawa is now in the coffers of american giants such as Google and Facebook.

Companies that do not have the obligation to collect sales taxes or pay income tax of corporations.

“It gives a lot of advertising to the giant americans who do not pay taxes in Canada, but it is taken away to the television,” is of the opinion Monique Pauzé, member of parliament for the Bloc Québécois.

Already criticized for his refusal to tax the services of Netflix in Canada, the Trudeau government shows itself to terse.

“With the tax treatment of companies and e-commerce, it is a discussion we are ready to have. But by this time, the government’s position has not changed compared to that”, explains Joël Lightbound, parliamentary secretary to the minister of Finance.

This is what relaunch the debate on the tax policy of Ottawa with respect to the american giants of the web.