After 15 years in community news, you’d think I'd be more jaded about "silly season" – that magical time before any election when every reporter's inbox is flooded with news releases from whatever government is trying to stay in power.
I should be, but I'm not.
Back in September 2016, when it was Christy Clark's BC Liberals wielding the provincial government's prodigious communications apparatus to squeeze the most credit possible out of even the most routine acts of government ahead of a provincial election, I found it hard not to take their disingenuous methods personally.
And I still find it hard not to take them personally now that it's David Eby's BC NDP using what appears to be the exact same playbook.
On Friday, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs put out a news release ostensibly announcing community gaming grants for not-for-profit organizations that deliver programs to keep people healthy, active and connected.
Among the local recipients highlighted was the Burnaby-based B.C. Blind Sports and Recreation Association which is getting $250,000, according to the release.
The announcement featured glowing quotes about the grants from Burnaby-Deer Lake NDP MLA and Municipal Affair Minister Anne Kang and Burnaby North NDP MLA Janet Routledge, who are both up for re-election.
A full list of recipients was attached at the bottom of the announcement.
But that list, it turns out, was from last year.
The BC Blind Sports and Recreation Association has applied for this year's grant but hasn't yet been told whether it has been approved, according to member services coordinator Susan Flanagan.
She told the Burnaby NOW her organization has gotten the same $250,000 for at least five years, but the grants aren't usually confirmed until the fall – right around the time of the next provincial election.
As I said in my opinion piece back in 2016, a government news release is easy to rewrite.
It comes with easily digestible information and direct (if predictable) quotes from local officials and politicians.
With community newsrooms shrinking across the province, it's tempting for the few local reporters who are left not to make the calls it takes to ensure the information in the barrage of pre-election "announcements" blasted out by our government is accurate and not misleading.
We should, but we don’t, not all the time, and that's a problem.
But, as I said back in 2016, the thought our elected representatives might be counting on that to gain an edge at election time is a pretty big problem too.
Eight years later, I still can't help taking that personally.
Postscript
The New Democrat BC Government Caucus, which amplified the ministry's announcement with its own news release featuring quotes from all four of Burnaby's NDP MLAs, told the NOW the announcement was actually meant to be about last year's grants.
"The announcement was just delayed by the ministry for administrative reasons," research and communications officer Alyssa Jackson said in an email.
According to the provincial government website, non-profits who've applied for a sport related community gaming grant can expect to be notified by Sept. 30, making the ministry's announcement Friday more than nine months late – or about two months premature.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs has not responded to the NOW’s request for comment.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor
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