You may not of heard about the lesser-known Department of Gumdrops and Kittens, but they’ve taken a break from watching marathon Disney musicals in order to destroy the government’s social media strategy.
Well… at least that’s the kind of backlash the government is getting from disgruntled social media users looking for information from various government departments online.
Because, unfortunately, a lot of those departments no longer exist on social media. Where Canadians once found Environment Canada on Facebook, they now find “Conserve, Restore, and Connect with Nature.”
Want to visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Facebook? It’s gone missing too. Now you’ll find “Canada and the world” standing in its place.
The changes stem from the requirement for all government departments to get online by the end of next year. To achieve this, departments have banded together under similar themes, and enraged Canadians in the process.
Environment Canada (Conserve, Restore, and Connect with Nature) didn’t see the controversy coming (or someone wanted to prove a point) and asked users what they thought of the new name. Here’s a sample of the feedback it’s received so far:
“No, I don’t like your new name, it’s ridiculous. You are Environment Canada and should be proud of it. Why can’t you be Environment Canada with “Conserving, Restoring and Connecting with Nature” as a sub-title?”
“The change is terrible. You would better represent the people of Canada by making it clear that you’re the federal department responsible for implementing the Government’s environmental agenda. The SSC amalgamation of federal departments’ websites is going to be found to be penny-wise and pound foolish.”
“….it doesn’t even have Canada in the name… Is this now a nature meme page?”
