Sask. union says Crown-owned marketing firm's rejection of planned billboard campaign amounts to 'censorship'
The president of a union representing Saskatchewan service workers says Directwest's refusal to run a marketing campaign critical of the Scott Moe government amounts to "censorship."
Service Employees Union International - West (SEIU-West) president Barbara Cape says she wants answers from the marketing firm — a wholly-owned subsidiary of SaskTel — after the planned campaign was rejected.
Cape says she was told by a company representative that the ad does not meet the criteria as set out in the sensitivity guidelines for the company.
“Without any clear answers about what is divisive, with the thinly veiled allegations around sensitivity guidelines, this is censorship. Without a clear response, that’s what this is,” Cape told CTV News.
Cape says, there is nothing offensive about the billboards which she explains, highlight the concerns of workers who have been on the frontline during the pandemic.
The ads feature the hashtag "#RespectUsProtectUsPayUs" and advertise the union's HEYMOE.CA website which is critical of the Sask. Party government, in particular, its approach to supporting frontline workers.
According to Cape, the ad was approved and is running across the province with two other billboard media companies.
“The thing that really upset me is that what we were putting forward is divisive. It makes no sense to me, but if they’re going to levy that kind of accusation, then surely to God they should be giving us what they find so divisive and why,” Cape said.
In an emailed statement, Directwest Director of Corporate and Government Relations, Michelle Englot said SEIU-West's campaign was refused because it didn't meet the firm's requirements.
"As per Directwest’s advertising guidelines, Directwest will not display any advertising campaign messaging that is divisive in nature," Englot said.
Cape said this is the first time the union has ever had a campaign refused.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.