Toronto Star - April 7, 2008
Brett Popplewell
Staff Reporter
A walk along the city's lakeshore could soon feel like a stroll through the cluttered ad pages of a magazine, if the musings of Waterfront Toronto come to fruition.
The agency in charge of revitalizing the Lake Ontario frontage is looking at a sponsorship program that would see corporate names and logos decorating public spaces.
That means Lake Ontario Park, lower Donlands and Queens Quay might soon emerge with more than a facelift. Think Wal-Mart Park, the Lower Panasonic Donlands, Burger King's Quay.
Sound outrageous? Olivia Chow, MP for the lakefront riding of Trinity-Spadina, thinks so.
"If we start selling names of public places to corporations, what's left? Surely our society is governed by more than a materialistic culture," said Chow.
With only $1.5 billion in seed capital from governments to fund its 25-year $17-billion program, Waterfront Toronto is seeking new sources of revenue, said vice-president Marissa Piattelli.
"We have been thinking about doing a property inventory of our assets, looking at other great waterfronts internationally, and how they have leveraged non-governmental sources as revenues for the project," Piattelli said.
Naming rights are just one of many strategies Waterfront Toronto might implement to make money, she said, adding public input would be sought in all cases.
"You're going to need a lot of people being completely comfortable with the approach, and we are going to have to develop a case for whatever the rationale is, in terms of how to do this," Piattelli said.
Paula Fletcher, city councillor for Toronto-Danforth, said she was opposed in principle to selling naming rights to public property.
Ontario Public Infrastructure Minister David Caplan noted the proposal was in very early stages but said corporate sponsorships had helped Chicago revitalize its waterfront and build the "world renowned" Millennium Park.
Thornhill MPP Peter Shurman said he thought sponsorships were "a great idea," pointing out that many hospitals have wings named after large benefactors.
"Why not give these opportunities to organizations ... and put the money in the public purse," Shurman said.
But the NDP's Chow disagreed.
"Make no mistake, when corporations 'donate' money, they get a huge tax deduction that comes from taxpayers."
With files from The Canadian Press