A CIBC logo adorns the Ottawa 2017 mural on the Bank Street underpass at the Queensway. Lysia Filotas, Centretown NewsIf you live in Ottawa you’ve likely seen it — CIBC’s red and yellow logo splashed across anything related to Ottawa 150 and Canada’s upcoming sesquicentennial birthday-bash celebrations.
CIBC, Canada’s fifth-largest bank, is also celebrating its 150th anniversary next year.
And it’s a good thing, too. Because if you believe Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, the party just wouldn’t be the same without them.
“The partnership between Ottawa 2017 and CIBC is the single largest partnership for an event in Ottawa’s history,” Watson said nearly a year ago when announcing the deal. “Together, we will amplify Canada’s 150th celebrations and offer Canadians and visitors from around the world an exceptional and memorable year of high-calibre experiences.”
According to Watson and Ottawa 2017 executive directorGuy Laflamme, who describes the public private partnership as “bold” and “energizing,” the city’s plans for a year-long celebration would be virtually impossible were it not for the support of sponsors like CIBC.
According to the pair, free admission to events such as Inspiration Village, a 13-week showcase featuring exhibits from each province and territory, the Red Bull Crashed Ice series and celebrations to help mark the 125th anniversary of the Stanley Cup are among the major features of the lavish, multimillion-dollar deal between CIBC and the city.
Yet despite the bank’s apparent generosity, CIBC and the City of Ottawa have remained tightlipped on exactly how much CIBC — a private corporation — had to pay to be named “co-host” of the national capital’s birthday celebrations and have its logo slapped across the entire city.
Two million? Ten million? Who knows.
Instead, all we know is that after nearly a year, both CIBC and the City of Ottawa have maintained confidentiality — like they’re members of some old boys club where transparency and government accountability don’t matter.
“Due to contractual obligations, we do not disclose that information,” said Denise LeBlanc, manager of media relations at Ottawa 2017. She did disclose, however, that the partnership was a “landmark opportunity” for the city and CIBC.
As if this weren’t enough corporate pandering for one event, just this week federal Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly announced that Manulife, Canada’s largest insurance company, will be the “exclusive sponsor” of this year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks celebrations on Parliament Hill.
It’s also worth pointing out that Manulife and the Chicken Farmers of Canada — early birds that they are — have already been named official sponsors of the July 1 fireworks show on the Hill.
All this to say that while there are, no doubt, benefits to corporate partnerships in hosting public events — money being the most important — what do we, average citizens, lose in exchange?
We’re told these deals are worth millions of dollars and that the events wouldn’t — couldn’t — be the same without them, but is this even true?
Is Canada — one of the seven wealthiest nations in the world — so hard done by that it cannot splurge every 50 or 100 years for a major birthday celebration free from corporate branding and entanglements?
What’s next? Do we offer Canadian Tire or Hudson’s Bay — iconic companies that they are — naming rights to the Peace Tower? Does Watson, who’s supposed to represent all Ottawa residents equally, emblazon CIBC’s logo on his suit jacket?
Why not put Manulife’s logo on a hat and ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to wear it during press conferences – become the Michael Schumacher, or better yet, Jacques Villeneuve, of global politics.
If RBC asked to put its logo on the Canadian flag — would we do it? And for how much?