Touchdown: Bryant plays doomsday card

In our Veritas Media Coaching sessions, we always caution communicators against speculating about things that may or may not happen. But every rule has an exception, and Ontario Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant showed us all how that works this week, when he held a news conference armed with a report by the Ontario Manufacturing Council. The exception to the speculation rule is that it’s OK to do it if you’re deliberately postulating a possible scenario for a very strategic purpose (as opposed to blue-skying off the top of your head). The report looked at the possible impact on jobs and the economy if the big three auto makers were allowed to go bankrupt, and the prospects are staggering: more than 500,000 jobs within five years, and catastrophic ripple effects throughout the economy and on provincial revenue (and by extension on the government’s ability to provide services). The doomsday scenario was dramatic enough, but Bryant wasn’t finished: he carefully chose some equally attention-getting apocalyptic language to go along with it, including “Armageddon,” “catastrophic” and “nuclear freeze.” I’m pretty sure the expression he meant to use was “nuclear winter,” but no matter – the projections coupled with his dramatic language were headlines in the making, and they created a huge platform for Bryant’s main messages: that significant government support for the auto sector is imperative, and that the Ontario government stands ready to pony-up. His audiences were both those directly connected to the auto sector, and to all other voters who are unsure about using taxpayers’ money to bail out an industry that many feel could – and should – have done more to prepare for the current economic turmoil.