A few months ago, it refused to sell ad space to a Christian group for religious messages, on grounds the City of Mississauga wants to prevent conflict amongst ethnic and religious groups in Mississauga.
This time, it’s ads from the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) that aren’t passing muster, with the City claiming they’re too graphic and shocking to be shown in public places.
“Our concern was placing these ads in bus shelters where we do have a lot of younger children may cause some distress to them,” Martin Powell, the City’s commissioner of transportation and works, told City Council on Wednesday Nov. 21.
The ads are part of a recently-launched campaign by the WSIB, called “Road to Zero,” to eliminate workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities. The public awareness posters show dangerous practices and their consequences — with the reminder that, “There really are no accidents.”
Powell said he’s aware the ads are being run in newspapers and on television, and that he’s prepared to work with the WSIB to come up with acceptable versions for Mississauga, perhaps similar to ones being used on York Transit. There, he noted, the more gruesome portions have been “blanked out.”
“I don’t know if they’re effective, but we’re willing to accept those posters. It wasn’t that we did not support the initiative; obviously, we’re concerned about safety, too, and I know in the workplace posters such as these would make people understand it’s a serious issue.”
Powell said his staff will prepare a report and return with a recommendation.
“There’s a fine line between censorship and doing something that’s good for residents,” said Ward 6 City councillor Carolyn Parrish. “That fine line has to be carefully watched, and while I don’t agree with random censorship, in this case I appreciate (staff is) working with (the WSIB) to come up with something that’s acceptable and still carry some impact,” she said.
According to WSIB chair Steve Mahoney, only four municipalities in the province have rejected the ads.
“Mississauga is one, Hamilton is another, then there’s Region of York and Windsor,” he said. “Toronto, Brampton, Oakville and Burlington have all accepted them.”
The ads might be graphic, but that’s exactly what’s necessary to drive home the message, Mahoney told The News.
“Society as a whole doesn’t pay much attention to workplace fatalities and injuries,” he said.
“Last year, (the WSIB) paid for 331 funerals and death benefits for families, so we’re trying to highlight the gravity of the situation with what we call our social marketing campaign — that’s what the ads are all about.”
Mahoney said the board’s intent is to run the television ads, because of their graphic nature, after 8 p.m., when children are in bed. However, he acknowledges the agency has received complaints from parents after CTV and CBC inadvertently ran them earlier.
Mahoney, a former Mississauga councillor, MPP and MP, said he’s willing to negotiate a compromise with the City whereby the ads would be in black-and-white and with the more gruesome parts blocked out.
“We’re not trying to be difficult. Ideally, we would like to see the ads run unaltered, but we’ll go with whatever the City decides. We want municipalities, particularly my city, to participate in the campaign.”
jchin@mississauga.net
