NEWJETSFORSNOWBIRDS.COM ?

BLR · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 2:47 pm **Posts:** 425

Hi All,

This may be my paranoia taking over, but.....re: http://www.hillandknowlton.com/netcoms/ ... s/3?case=4

It's interesting to note that the domain WWW.NEWJETSFORSNOWBIRDS.COM (the site is no longer there) was owned by the lobby group Hill and Knowlton and the site and petition may have been created by them on behalf of British Aerospace who would like to sell the Canadian military their Hawk jets.

So was the petition for the Snowbirds or BAe?

I fully agree and support the acquisition of new jets for the Snowbirds but I feel a bit misled by the New Jets for Snowbirds campaign. Like many I thought it was a campaign was undertaken by some average Joe's who wanted to see our Snowbirds get some long needed new equipment and that the petition was a way to show the government that Canadians support the idea.

When if fact it appears that we may have unknowingly been used by Hill and Knowlton and BAe to gather stats/info that could be used to help BAe's bid to sell the Canadian Air Force the Hawks.

In regards to my comments, the need for new aircraft and the choice of aircraft is not the issue. The issue is the possible misrepresentation of the petition and why it was started and who was behind it.

Am I alone in my thinking on this? Your comments?

Brian....

Eric Friedebach · **Posted:** Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:44 pm

Here’s a link to the last archived version of that site.

The About Us page only lists some “supporters” but nothing about who is behind the site. How did you hear about it?

Hill & Knowlton seem proud of their efforts, though:

Hill & Knowlton wrote:

After garnering nearly 8000 petitions (and shutting down the parliamentary servers), decision-makers are now fully aware of the campaign and the support behind it, making it easier for HK’s lobbyists to engage their support, capture their attention, and push the agenda forward in both the political and bureaucratic arenas.

BLR · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 2:47 pm **Posts:** 425

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the archived pages, when I first seen the newjets site I didn't recall see a "sponsored by BAe" or "brought to you by Hill and Knowlton " disclaimer which the archived version seems to confirm.

Isn't there some sort of code of ethics regarding the use of petitions for marketing?

Eric Friedebach wrote:

How did you hear about it?

A friend pointed it out to me.

Brian....

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