'Calgaria' sufferers no longer delusional
Nova Scotia drops suggestion of mental illness in ad campaign
Last Updated: Friday, March 30, 2007 | 5:40 PM AT
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Edgy is good but insulting is not.
That's the bottom line for the Nova Scotia government when it comes to its campaign to try to lure Nova Scotians home from jobs in Alberta.
That campaign talked about a fictitious ailment called "delusional calgaria," which prevented former Nova Scotians from seeing the benefits of returning to the province.
But because of a complaint from advocates of the mental-health community, the word "delusional" has been dropped from the ad campaign and accompanying website.
"We're not out to offend people or insult people," Barry Barnet, the minister responsible for the ad, said Friday.
"We're out to bring awareness to Nova Scotia. If we can do both that's what we're going to do — not offend people and bring awareness to Nova Scotia."
Earlier this week, Premier Rodney MacDonald dismissed concerns that the campaign might offend Westerners, saying it was designed to be "in your face."
Jean Hughes, a Halifax spokeswoman for the Canadian Mental Health Association, said she accepts that the ad was intended as a joke.
"But it kind of continues to stigmatize people with mental illness and it further marginalizes people who have a lot of difficulty looking for help," said Hughes.
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