While the Royal Canadian Mint said no to sponsorship spending in the home of its Winnipeg plant, it said yes to paying for a performance of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. The federal Crown corporation also paid for advertising as part of two RWB international tours. As well, it commissioned a 50-cent coin featuring Folklorama as part of a celebration of Canadian festivals. But money from the Mint's $3.5-million sponsorship fund was all but off-limits to any event or organization outside Ontario and Quebec. The Mint is confirming it paid $10,000 for the RWB to perform at the 2000 grand opening of its new plating facility, which expanded its St. Vital plant. The plant produces all of the Canadian coins in circulation. The Mint also provided $10,000 to the RWB in 1995 and $10,000 in 1998. That money paid for advertising of the ballet company's international tours. Mint spokesman Phil Taylor said the Crown corporation distinguishes between sponsorship spending and advertising. "Sponsorship is a return-over-investment vehicle," he said. "You go in there looking to get money out of the deal. With advertising you want to get visibility." Documents obtained by the Free Press show that much of the $3.5 million the Mint has spent in sponsorships since 1998 went to Ottawa. Among the big winners were Ottawa's Tulip Festival ($40,000), Winterlude Festival ($50,651) and a black-tie opera night ($32,000). The Mint also provided $1,000 for Ottawa's community college and $2,500 for a hockey tournament. Taylor said the gifts to the community college graduates and medals for the hockey tournament were all worthy sponsorship deals because they allowed the Mint to tap into potentially lucrative markets. Taylor again defended the sponsorship's focus on Ontario and Quebec, saying it is based on the kind of economic opportunities that work in the Mint's favour. "Within the corridor (Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto) we are talking about, that is where the money is." The only event outside of Quebec or Ontario to receive funding was the Calgary Stampede, which got $2,094 in 2002-03. The Mint's headquarters are in Ottawa, where 332 workers are employed. Its Winnipeg operation, which produces all of the country's pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies and toonies, employs 139 people. Taylor said the Mint uses the launch of coins, which usually take place in every province every two years, along with advertising to connect to Canadians in the rest of the country. However, NDP MP Pat Martin said it's wrong to limit a first-class sponsorship program to Ottawa and leave Winnipeg, the West and Atlantic Canada with a second-class level of support, via advertising. "I don't think the fact they do some advertising in Winnipeg offsets the fact they are not doing any sponsorship in Winnipeg or, for that matter, the West," said Martin (Winnipeg Centre). "Buying an advertisement in one of our festivals is not as good as a sponsorship. It should not be blurred together." Said Judy Murphy, the RWB's chief operating officer: "Yes, they have supported the RWB, but certainly not in the same numbers as in Ottawa for the Tulip Festival." Dave Sherman of the Folk Arts Council of Winnipeg, which runs Folklorama, said that other than the minting of the special coin, there were no payments from the Mint. "As far as I can tell, it is the only thing we have dealt with the Mint," he said.
Reply
|
