Community associations surprised, disappointed to find political ad in community newsletters

Some community associations in Calgary are "extremely disappointed" that a political advertisement was published in the February edition of 38 community newsletter magazines across the city without their approval.

The advertisement by the group Families for Choice states, "It's time to repeal Alberta's vaccine passport for 12-17 year olds," and includes statistics about how vaccine mandates have impacted youth.

It was not included in the draft sent to community associations by Great News Media, which manufactures and distributes community newsletters for community associations across Calgary for free.

Instead, the draft included an empty placeholder stating the name of the marketing agency that represented Families for Choice on this campaign.

The final issue came as a surprise to Peg Oneil, president of the Eau Claire Community Association.

"The fact that overt political advertising was added to the pages of our community newsletter after the final draft we reviewed is particularly galling," said Oneil.

She says the association has a long history of political neutrality — which she adds is important as they work with all levels of government on all ends of the political spectrum to address their residents' concerns.

Publishing the ad implies that the community endorses the message, Oneil says, despite a disclaimer in the newsletter that nothing is endorsed by community associations or Great News Media.

The 38 community newsletters were delivered to around 169,650 homes, specifically in southwest and southeast Calgary communities. The ad was not published in community newsletters in the city's north.

Great News Media was paid an estimated $10,286 to run the ad repealing vaccine passports for youth, according to the company's print media kit.

'I feel kind of violated,' says resident

Bibi Fischer, resident and past board member of the Coach Hill Patterson Heights Community Association, says she felt "kind of violated" when she saw the ad in the community's digital newsletter.

She had yet to receive a physical copy, so she reached out to Great News directly to tell them she didn't want this issue — or any future issues — delivered to her home.

Great News told Fischer there is no way to remove individual homes from their delivery routes, as the newsletter is mass mailed via Canada Post.

"I feel like I should have the right to prevent propaganda like that from coming into my home. It's not like a subscription that I subscribe to," said Fischer.

This situation reduces her trust in the community newsletter, she says, and she would like to see the community association insist that they vet the full newsletter before it is published moving forward.

Great News Media, Families for Choice respond

According to Great News Media, the advertisement was booked at the last minute through a marketing agency that represents Families for Choice. Great News says they weren't aware of the content of the ad until after communities received their drafts on Jan. 25 and 26.

But according to Families for Choice, the marketing agency STING MKTG submitted the first draft of the ad on Jan. 21 and were asked by Great News to make minor changes to their design before the final ad was accepted on Jan. 26.

Mike Russell, president of Great News Media, says that at the end of the day, the process was extremely rushed.

"I didn't put enough time and effort into it and I will accept responsibility for that ad, but I don't stand behind that ad or the content of that ad," said Russell.

He says February's newsletter was already in production by mid-January, but they accepted the ad on Jan. 13 because they're "really, really struggling" as a business.

"The reality is it was an extremely rough situation. We had pulled the magazine that it was going into from production and held that space because it was a substantial booking for us and we're barely hanging on here in the business financially," said Russell.

He says he wouldn't have included it in the newsletters if he thought the backlash would be as strong as it has been.

"It is just a very controversial time right now and it's not the easiest river to navigate and we messed up on this one. No question," said Russell. "It's been a tough lesson for us, and that's our truth."

Russell says the part of the ad about teenage mental health hit home for him, as he has two teenage stepdaughters who are suffering as a result of the pandemic.

Cathryn Carruthers, co-founder of Families for Choice, says she isn't sure why the advertisement is being called political, and the group stands by their mission to end pandemic measures for children across Canada.

"I suspect it's an internal Great West issue. We are not privy to their internal approval process, and can only assume there are some that don't like the fact that we are asking for measures on children to be lifted," said Carruthers in a statement.

Russell echoes the sentiment, saying the ad is controversial, but he doesn't know if it should be considered political.

Similar issue with political ad last March

While the Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association did not have the Families for Choice ad included in their newsletter this month, president and newsletter editor Alex MacWilliam says they had a similar issue with Great News last March.

The main difference is that the paid ad, from the group Calgary's Future, was included in the draft sent to the community association. 

But when MacWilliam brought forward his concerns to Great News and asked them to remove the ad, he says they refused.

A publishing contract between Great News Media and the Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association from 2019 stated that, "Great News Media agrees, if so requested by Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association … not to solicit or accept for publication in the newsletter political advertising (paid or not)."

The Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association is the only community association with this specific provision in their contract, according to Great News.

"They replied and said, 'We don't think it's paid political advertising.' I don't know how they could have said that, but they did. And it's going to run," said MacWilliam.

Despite his concerns about Great News going against their contract, the advertisement stayed in the March issue, but included a statement of objection written by MacWilliam — which Russell says isn't typically allowed.

Russell says they were unable to cancel the booking of the ad by the time MacWilliam reached out, especially since the revenue of the ad was imperative to printing their edition.

Following the incident, he says they continued to turn away advertising from Calgary's Future for an additional seven months, and declined advertising from political candidates.

"This was a one-off incident that was remedied immediately, and has not been discussed between either party since. Since the Families for Choice ad that ran was not in support of an elected official or political party, there was no equivalency discussed between the two bookings," said Russell in a statement.

He says this is the only complaint he received from community associations at the time.

No longer publishing political ads

Oneil, from Eau Claire Community Association, says if a similar situation happens again, their only option is to walk away and find another way to get information to their residents.

"I'm very disappointed that they won't actually have an apology attached," said Oneil.

She says they're discontented, but not ready to walk away yet. She knows Great News has struggled throughout the pandemic.

"Maybe that made them a little bit desperate, but I don't think that's an excuse," she said.

Russell says Great News has sent out very detailed emails to communities to apologize and tell them that it won't happen again.

"We are not going to allow stuff like this back into our publications," said Russell. Great News will no longer accept ads from Families for Choice.

In March, community associations will have the choice to include an ad that provides information on the benefits of vaccines. Great News will not publish ads about vaccines after April.