The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CFRA) is dedicated to promoting the growth of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel as a way to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but channel a largely untapped source for Canadian jobs and local economic growth. Lately, according to a news release on their site, they've been the straw stirring the drink. One of the spots of their 2007 ad campaign, which reminds Canadians about Prime Minister Harper’s campaign commitment to require 5% renewable content in fuel and promoting the benefits of ethanol and biodiesel, has been blocked by Telecaster Canada, the group that regulates television advertising content, on behalf of Canadian broadcasters. The advertisement in question contained a brief clip from the last election campaign of Stephen Harper speaking to a group of farmers outside Chatham, Ontario on December 21, 2005. Telecaster is requiring the CRFA to get approval from the Prime Minister to use his image in the ad, despite the clip being taken from a public event during an election campaign. "The Telecaster decision oversteps its authority, muzzles freedom of speech and limits public debate on important issues," said Kory Teneycke, Executive Director of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association. "Public commitments made by politicians during political campaigns have historically been treated as matters of public record, not as copyrighted material owned by the politician in question."

"This is a radical move on the part of Telecaster, and has important implications on public debate in Canada. No politician should be put in the position of having to give permission to use a commitment made during an election campaign," concluded Teneycke. "Our fearless mascot, Corn Cob Bob (at left), has launched a hunger strike in protest of the decision to ban our ads," said Teneycke. "We hope Telecaster reverses its decision before Bob expires along with freedom of speech."

Cute. You can view the ad in question on YouTube (they have another one here) and decide if Corn Cob Bob is justified in his hunger strike or not; there are also copies of some of the letters that are driving the controversy. There's lots of other information at the site, including where to get biofuels in Canada, and more about where they come from and why we should be supporting them. ::Canadian Renewable Fuels Association via ::AutoblogGreen

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