Rhino’s Ramblings - The Tweet
By Robert Thomas - Opinion/Commentary
On February 25, 2021 Prairies Economic Development Canada posted what was then known as a Tweet on the social media site then known as Twitter and today known as X.
The Tweet was about Prairies Economic Development Canada’s (PEDC) success with its Regional Relief and Revovery Fund (RRRF).
RRRF was, according to the Government of Canada’s website, a program designed to assist businesses experiencing difficulties to continue their operations including paying employees during the COVID - 19 pandemic restrictions.
Additionally RRRF was to “support projects by business, organizations and communities to prepare for a successful recovery.”
This where a local Moose Jaw company 101082401 Saskatchewan Ltd commonly known as operating under the business name “The Tunnels Of Moose Jaw” comes in.
It was all part of a Tweet that Prairies Economic Development Canada sent out to promote the success of RRRF and try to get other tourism businesses to sign.
The Tweet is displayed below.
A screenshot of a Tweet sent out February 25, 2021 on Prairies Economic Development Canada what was known then as Twitter - today it’s known as X.
Background- A Big Misunderstanding
I had initially submitted an FOI request looking for any documents or emails, texts and the like about a National Film Board of Canada documentary by Weiye Su called “A Passage Beyond Fortune.”
The documentary details the true lives of Chinese Canadians in Moose Jaw and calls into question the claims by the Tunnels Of Moose Jaw that for a time people of Chinese origin were forced to literally live underground.
A long time ago I worked for the federal government. I know there is a lot of chatter when a program gets negative attention. I guessed Weiye Su’s documentary might generate internal texts and emails.
So I sent in an FOI request to see if it had happened expecting to at best get back a couple of dozen pages.
Then one day I received an email saying the FOI was approved but the way it was written did not come close to what I had submitted.
I phoned the number I was given and left a message but never received a call back.
I got busy and assumed they had listened to the message and were correcting the FOI to match what I wanted.
Was I wrong.
As one day I received not one, but two emails, with documents.
I literally received hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pages and not the 24 - 35 pages I had hoped for.
I had mistakenly received the department’s entire communications strategy.
And in that strategy I learned about the Tweet.
I learnt about the great lengths, effort and hours spent formulating and reformulating draft after draft over days and weeks before it was Tweeted.
It was a team of experts and specialists across the Prairies and all the way back to Ottawa nurturing this one idea.
Really what I was reading was the gestation of the idea right up to its birth as a Tweet.
Defending The Tweet - Third Party Strategy
On February 11, 2021 Robert Makichuk, director general of communications for Western Economic Diversification sent an email asking all communications staff to increase their efforts to attract more clients to apply for RRRF funding in the tourism area.
The February 11, 2021 email sent to Robert Makichuk, director general of communications for Western Economic Diversification
“The time has come for us to up our game in terms of attracting more tourism businesses to apply for RRRF. I'm attaching the RRRF complan as a reminder. There are certain tactics that we need to work on immediately,” the email from Robert Makichuk, director general of communications for Western Economic Diversification read.
The email included an outline of the department’s communication strategy.
A strategy which includes the use of Third Parties - the recipients themselves - to give testimonials in order to sell the COVID - 19 recovery program to others in the tourism and other industries.
The Third Party media strategy had been developed for use across the Prairies but most importantly for Saskatchewan.
With no Liberal MPs in Saskatchewan and the need to get the message out and sell the program PEDC had focused on the third party option to get their message out.
The strategy included a social media strategy as well as using other influencers and local media to spread the word on the program.
“Tourism success stories social media campaign -as many stories as we can gather-to highlight the value of WD's RRRF funding for tourism businesses,” was one of the strategy’s pointed out.
A second strategy was to reach out to local media - traditional and new media to promote the program.
“Strat, please draft an op-ed which we will pitch to MINO as being signed by the Minister or the PS and collaborate with MINO to position in local newspapers.
o Regional comms leads, this is an opportunity to leverage prominent podcasts in your areas, for us to pitch appearances by Minister and/or PS,” the communications strategy read.
It was a communication strategy Ottawa - including the Minister’s offices - knew about. It was a way to get Ottawa’s message out in Saskatchewan and bypass the local Conservative Party MPs.
A November 30, 2022 email mentioned how there had been great success by the third party approach and the problems of all 13 Saskatchewan MPs not on the government side of the House of Commons.
“With no govt MPs here, the third party approach has been a strategic success for us, but not just in terms of completing announcements,” the November 30, 2022 email from PEDC’s Craig Henry read.
A response from Dr Jallil Abdil PhD PDC’s deputy minister called the information “helpful.”
A November 30, 2022 internal Prairies Economic Development Canada’s email defends the Third Party approach
A government program to assist tourism businesses survive and adapt to the COVID - 19 pandemic restrictions had gone political.
Enter The Tunnels Of Moose Jaw
The emails in the FOI release see the Tunnels of Moose Jaw as a great success story by PEDC.
The Tunnels had borrowed $598,442 under the RRRF program - at a three percent repayment rate of $16,623 monthly effective January 31, 2023.
The loan provided to the Tunnels was so much seen as a success story a November 23, 2020 internal PEDC by Rhonda Shymko recommended the project be granted a higher profile in an upcoming RRRF bundled media announcement.
A November 23, 2020 internal Prairies Economic Development Canada email recommending the Tunnels of Moose Jaw be given a higher priority in an upcoming bundled media rElease at that time
In future issues discussed by emails internally to promote RRRF and later Rhonda Shymko championed her client the Tunnels Of Moose Jaw.
The Tunnels of Moose Jaw had an internal PEDC staffer champion them for the Tweet and beyond.
Just how important the RRRF funding was is stated in an April 15, 2021 email from the Tunnels of Moose Jaw to the PEDC.
“Due to the funding we received through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund we are able to maintain a total of 29 fulltime equivalent positions.
We are currently supporting 5 active fulltime employees.
Once we re-open we can bring back and hire another 24 fulltime equivalent employees for our existing and new tours and ticket office,” the email read.
Email from the Tunnels of Moose Jaw stating the importance of RRRF funding
But the emails from the Tunnels of Moose Jae go further than the jobs saved and the content of the February 25, 2021 Tweet.
The reality of the Tunnels financial situation - due to the COVID - 19 pandemic restrictions- was in reality in a much more grim predicament than publicly announced on social media or in the PEDC emails obtained in the FOI request.
In a November 30, 2021 email a very grateful Tunnels of Moose Jaw general manager Bobby Hill admitted the Tunnels were done without the RRRF loan.
The November 30, 2021 email expressing gratitude for the RRRF loan and how without it the Tunnels of Moose Jaw would not have survived
“We could not have survived this time without the support of the RRRF Loan!” the November 30, 2021 email from Bobby Hill general manager of the Tunnels of Moose Jaw read.
But this was not the only funding provided to the Tunnels from PEDC.
In March 2022 the Tunnels received an additional $99,999 non-repayable loan under the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF) program to assist finish their new project, Bunker 24, a look at the Cold War.
March 29, 2022 letter from Prairies Economic Development Canada informing the Tunnels Of Moose Jaw they had been approved for $99,999 under the Tourism Relief Fund program
In a January 25, 2022 email the Tunnels predicted the new attraction would generate an additional 20 percent in sales through increased attendance and merchandise sales.
Highly Receptive Client
In Shymko’s championing her highly receptive client, the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, the project is initially mentioned as the content for a Tweet on February 12, 2021.
Just one day after the call went out by Robert Makichuk, director general of communications for Western Economic Diversification sent an email asking all communications staff to increase their efforts to attract more clients to apply for RRRF funding the Tunnels were in the loop.
“In terms of success stories, we can approach Tunnels of Moose Jaw, a Stream 2 client that has been announced already, for a testimonial “an email asks.
The February 12, 2021 email suggesting using the Tunnels of Moose Jaw as a testimonial as to the positive effects of the RRRF program
Although it looked cut and dried there were more than a few glitches to perfecting the perfect tweet.
It went beyond the client giving a quote to use but first that quote had to be the proper length for Twitter.
The emails show the quote and proposed Tweet heading back and forth for approval and just when it looked ready for publication it was rejected as it would not work in French on Twitter.
It had to be re-worked and shortened as the translation into French was too long for Twitter.
The move required a reduction of four words in the English version of the proposed Tweet. And then another round of emails looking for comment and approval.
Despite the federal funding saving their jobs the Tunnels of Moose Jaw employees were hesitant to have their pictures taken for the Tweet.
The reluctance of Tunnels of Moose Jaw employees to allow their photographs to be taken for the Tweet was 11 days into developing the Tweet.
“Hi Rhonda (Shymko). you were right ... they were not that excited about getting pictures done. Danny (Guillaume from the Tunnels of Moose Jaw) replied by email sending three photos.
February 23, 2021 email from the Tunnels to Prairies Economic Development Canada about the reluctance of employees to allow their pictures to be taken
Them once the pictures arrived Shymko would email back hours later to Guilluame informing him the wording she proposed for the Tweet.
Wording which still needed final approval. But had at least one approval for.
Prairie Economic Development Canada’s Rhonda Shymko’s response to Danny Guillaume from the Tunnels of Moose Jaw
Shymko would email internally seeking permission to run the Tweet.
An approval that was a multi-step one.
Prairies Economic Development Canada’s Rhonda Shymko emails a college
Once the initial approval was given Shymko would request final approval.
After literally dozens of emails and more than a few updates and changes the Tweet was approved.
Prairies Economic Development Canada’s Rhonda SHYMKO emails for ginal APPROVAL of the proposed teeet
The Tweet’s Impact and Legacy
Despite being described as “terrific” by a college the final Tweet sent out on February 25, 2021 appears to have had a questionable if any impact.
The likes on Twitter for a Tweet that took well over a week to develop.
Despite what appears to be the Tweet’s negotiable impact the story was “recycled” and re-packaged for use on other occasions.
When a high-level member of the federal department had to appear before the Senate’s Finance Committee the success of the Tunnels of Moose Jaw was “recycled” has there was no ready example of a success of the RRRF program in Saskatchewan.
Likewise, when the minister wanted to speak to somebody in a small round table - no more than three tourism businesses - about tourism, the Tunnels of Moose Jaw came up as a good example for the request.
It’s a story that for the department of Prairies Economic Development Canada that so far has been a success.
The FOI never reveals how much time and money was spent on developing the Tweet about the Tunnels of Moose Jaw.
The now X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, account for Prairies Economic Development Canada has 9,182 posts as of publication that would need to all go through similar vetting an approval.
The Tunnels never closed permanently, they re-opened and continue to operate.