TORONTO, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has obtained documents through the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act that reveal during the federal election, the Ontario government spent $592,834 advertising the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP). This includes $8,000 to advertise the ORPP on Instagram, an image sharing app popular with celebrities like Kim Kardashian.

“Wynne campaigned with the federal Liberals on the issue of pensions during the federal election, and she used $600,000 of taxpayer money to support this campaign,” said CTF Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn.

Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk said during the election that had the Wynne government not recently limited her powers that: “We would have suggested that perhaps the timing of running the ad could be construed as partisan.”

“The timing of the Wynne government’s ORPP ad campaign was obviously timed to coincide with the federal election and to achieve the election of the premier’s preferred candidate, at taxpayer expense,” continued Van Geyn. “The Ontario Liberal Party should be reimbursing taxpayers for every penny of the $592,834 they spent on partisan ads”

The $600,000 spent during the writ period is nearly one third of the $1.7 total budget the province had spent advertising the ORPP up until that point in 2015.

To view the FOIP documents please click HERE.