Tag Archives: data journalism

Targeted Facebook Ads and Youth

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The federal Liberal and New Democratic Party (NDP) targeted young voters on Facebook at a higher percentage compared to the Conservatives, according to an analysis of data from the social media platform’s ads library.

Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), had the highest percentage of targeted ads for youth Facebook users at 13.5 per cent, followed by Justin Trudeau, the leader of the Liberal party, who had 6.4 per cent. Andrew Sheer, the leader of the Conservative party, had just 5.9 per cent.

The data analyzed covered users from the ages of 18 to 24.

According to Acabus data, people between ages 18 to 38 have the power to swing this year’s elections since they make up 37 per cent of the electorate – citizens eligible to vote.

In the 2015 election, voters from ages 18 to 24, had the lowest voter turnout segment with 57.1 per cent according to Elections Canada’s website. Voters from 25 to 34-years-old were the second lowest with 57.4 per cent.

Samantha Reush, the research and evaluations manager at Apathy is Boring, – a non-partisan, youth-led organization aiming to encourage youth to actively participate in Canada’s democracy, – said the hypothesis of first-time voters not turning up for their first elections – yet participating in their second one – is unlikely.

“If you don’t vote in your first two elections, it is not likely a habit you will pick up eventually,” said Reush.

She said if young people stop voting and voter turnout keeps decreasing, “we are going to end up in a position where we have a small percentage of the population deciding the outcome of the elections on behalf of the country.”

“It could erode out our democracy,” she added.

When talking about the targeted ads towards youth Facebook users, Reush said she was surprised to hear party leaders were targeting youth at such a low percent.

“I’m surprised is that low,” Reush said.

But not everyone shares the same sentiment regarding the low percentage on the infamous social media platform.

Ramona Pringle, director of Transmedia Zone and associate professor at Ryerson University, said she was not surprised to see that party leaders are not targeting youth with Facebook ads.

“Facebook is not a helpful platform for them to reach a younger demographic,” she said.   “Facebook has a reputation for attracting older and older users now, maybe that’s why they are doing it.”

However, she added that social media is crucial when it comes to advertisements.

“I think social media is huge in terms of elections,” Pringle said.

Pringle said she believes parties will be targeting different demographics at different points of the elections based on strategy.

“I think the responsibility – and what we hope for in a leader – is someone who is addressing everybody,” she said.

The targeted ads not only varied in percentage but also in content.

Ads by NDP leader, Singh, focused on things such as “Lower Cell Phone Bills,” and adding a Canadian federal minimum wage. Whereas ads by Liberal Party leader, Trudeau, and Conservative leader, Sheer, focused on promoting the party’s plans, and volunteer opportunities with titles such as “210,000 Canadians + You,” and “Better Together” by the Liberals and “Creating Opportunities for Canadians,” by Conservatives.

Laura French, the Administrator Campaign Manager for the Green Party in Ottawa-Centre, said youth are usually overlooked in elections.

“The youth are often ignored and not taken as serious voters and not taken as serious participants in society,” she said. “If the climate strike says anything – that’s just not true. They very much want to be involved and want to be engaged.”

The Green party in the Ottawa-Centre riding has aimed 8.2 per cent of their Facebook ads towards users between the ages of 18 and 24, while parties such as the Conservatives, the NDP and the Liberals have directed less than 6.4 per cent.

Kitchissippi is the Most Popular Ward to Call about Trees to 311 Ottawa -Draft

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Trees that are too big or unsightly refers to trees that can cause damage in public areas. However, some people request pruning services for aesthetic reasons without realizing how to properly care for a tree. Photo by Katie Jacobs.

Since 2013, Kitchissippi made the most calls on tree related issues, according to an analysis from a 311 dataset.

The most common calls are for too big/unsightly trees. Among the top five wards for this category are River, Capital, Alta Vista and Gloucester – Southgate.

Tracey Schwets, the Program Manager of the Forest Management Branch at 311 Ottawa, explains in an email that these calls usually refer to branches touching a house, or requesting clearance space.

Schwets adds this normally means a caller is asking for a tree to be pruned.

“Pruning a tree doesn’t mean that you’re stunting it’s growth, it just means that maybe your helping shape its growth in a way that works better with …the ecosystem.” says Lauren Latour, the community organizer and campaign coordinator for Ecology Ottawa.

However, some people ask for trees to be pruned for aesthetic reasons, mostly because of the mess from sticky sap or fallen nuts, says David Koshurba, co-owner of Croft Tree Experts.

Koshurba explains pruning is meant to help trees, but since it can also stress them, it is important to avoid touching unhealthy trees and look for signs if one needs to be trimmed, such as damage, disease, or if two limbs are rubbing against each other.

He adds if improperly pruned, a tree could “open the door” for other diseases, fungus and insects.

“In the long run, it’s almost life or death for us. If we don’t have trees, we are not going to be able to survive as a species,” says Koshurba, who loves big oak trees. “Especially in city areas, there’s a lot more pollution, a lot more traffic, so to preserve a city tree is a lot more important.”

Koshurba says even though some people have aesthetic goals, others love their trees and let it grow without realizing that pruning may help. He adds more people are caring about their trees after witnessing the damage after the Tornado earlier this year.

“If you take care of your trees, even in those situations, you’re going to have a better chance of the tree surviving and a less chance of stress,” he explains. “Most of the trees (that came down) were stressed already before the Tornado hit.”

The City of Ottawa owns 330,000 trees, asking citizens to help maintain them by requesting pruning services to control pests and remove safety hazards in case storms.

Schwets adds a tree is never removed for aesthetic reasons, only if a Forest inspector deems it necessary. The city is also required to replace the tree, if possible, through the Trees in Trust program.

Latour, who lives on the border of Rideau-Vanier and Centretown, works in the Tree Ottawa Campaign, which gives away saplings for citizens’ yards.

“Trees are almost always worked into a city scape because people who work in urban planning understand the value of a tree,” explains Latour.

Latour was born in London Ontario, which she says is known as “The Forest City.” She adds when she used to visit her grandmother in Florida, she fell in love with the massive, wild oak trees.

“There’s studies that showed that increased exposure to …nature is extremely beneficial to our mental health and our physical state and well-being,” says Latour.

Latour agrees that some people may have an aesthetic idea or order on what they want their city landscape to look like, and admits her mother’s tree makes a mess by dropping seed pods, which would temporarily stain the concrete.

However, she says trees provide great health benefits to cities, and even solutions to global warming by filtering water and carbon dioxide or preventing soil erosion.”

“The number of benefits that trees offer us, (aesthetics) seems like a minor thing,” says Latour. “I do struggle with why somebody would complain about a tree, maybe cleaning up acorns in front of your house is a pain in the butt.”

2017 Ontario Sunshine List reveals spike in taxable benefits in Windsor public school board

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The Greater Essex County District School Board’s administration office on Park Street West in downtown Windsor, Ont.(Screenshot from Google Maps).

A small group of upper-level employees in a southern Ontario public school board saw a massive spike in their taxable benefits in 2017, according to an analysis of the annual Ontario Sunshine List which discloses the salaries and taxable benefits of public sector employees who earned more than $100,000 in the past year.

Seventeen employees with the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) in Windsor, Ont. received between $50,000 and $76,000 in the year in taxable benefits, 33 times more than the other employees on the list.

Out of the top 10 public sector employees who received the highest taxable benefits last year, eight of these spots are occupied by GECDSB employees. To put things into perspective, the employee from a different school board on the list who received the next highest taxable benefit sat at around $23,000.

For these 17 employees, the taxable benefits received were equal to between 26 and 33 per cent of their salary paid, according to an analysis of the data. For the remaining employees, their taxable benefits received were equal to at or below 1.2 per cent of their salary earned, the analysis also showed.

Carleton University business and taxation professor Rebecca Renfroe. (Courtesy Sprott School of Business).

In the previous three years, all taxable benefits for employees of the GECDSB sat below a two per cent equivalency rate in relation to salary earned.

“Taxable benefits are any benefit you get as an employee by virtue of working for your employer,” explained Rebecca Renfroe, a business and taxation professor at Carleton University. “Just the fact that you work there means you get [receive this benefit] and if you didn’t work there you wouldn’t get it.”

These can range from things vehicle, parking or travel expenses to life insurance and retirement plans, she added.

According to Scott Scantlebury, public relations officer with the GECDSB, this sudden jump in taxable benefits for seventeen employees was caused by retirement plans.

Scantlebury declined an interview request, but in an emailed response he said that due to a one-time “settlement of post-retirement benefits for eligible non-bargaining unit staff” allowing “the GECDSB to eliminate a large, future, unfunded liability” taxable benefits were higher than normal.

Scantlebury said the settlement saved the school board approximately $16.7 million in future cost.

The taxable benefit was about $4.6 million, Scantlebury said, about $1 million of which appears on the 2017 Sunshine List. According to Scantlebury, the remaining $3.6 million was received by staff who do not make the list.

“The non-bargaining employees group is much larger than just senior administration,” he said. “Most staff who received this taxable benefit were not listed … as their salary does not eclipse the $100,000 threshold.”

Contributions made by employers to an employee’s registered retirement saving plans (RRSPs) are considered to be a taxable benefit, according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) (p. 30)
Registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) are included and considered to be taxable benefits
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Hayden Kenez, press secretary with the Treasury Board of Ontario, said in an email that a breakdown of taxable benefits is not covered within the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, which governs the Sunshine List.

Carleton University’s Rebecca Renfroe spoke to the importance of a publicly accessible and searchable Sunshine List.

“It’s our money, it’s transparency. I think particularly in today’s world where the trust between public institutions and the public isn’t always where it should be … it’s important things like this exist so there is some level of transparency,” she said.

According to the GECDSB’s website, the board is home to 55 elementary schools and 15 secondary schools.

The Sunshine List has been in existence since 1997 and requires all public sector organizations to make public the names, position titles, salaries and taxable benefits received by employees making over $100,000 by Mar. 31 of each year.

(A map of all elementary [blue] and high schools [red] in the Greater Essex County District School Board [GECDSB] appears below.)