PR Dream WOrld

Published: Globe & Mail, Toronto

Once again, we see evidence of how rapidly Canada is moving from a world of substance to a dream world of wishful thinking. How can the federal government justify paying more on insubstantial public-relations activity than it has saved on the abolition of several key agencies — the Science Council and the Economic Council (The High Cost Of Feeling Better — May 26)? I suppose that there are more PR consultants who vote than there are scientists or economists.
Public-relations activity may influence the floating voter, but the Science Council and the Economic Council provided useful in-depth study of the country's progress in achieving its scientific and economic goals.
Unfortunately, we are failing in both areas, so the bearers of these bad tidings are abolished while the spin doctors flourish as they put a brave front on our failures.
We may indeed lament for our nation.