A guard dog of democracy is questioning the practice of municipal governments that receive free tickets for organized events in public places, after a CBC news investigation.
Access to free tickets has been under scrutiny after a former federal cabinet minister accepted the tickets of a crown corporation to see Taylor Swift during the period tour.
The documents obtained by CBC News through requests for freedom of information show that municipalities with sands and theaters financed by taxpayers in British Columbia have received hundreds of courtesy tickets worth thousands of dollars to events organized in their facilities.
The agreements for the use of facilities between the city of Kelowna and Live Nation Canada show seven courtesy tickets were assigned to the city for Tenille Townes, Darcy and Jer and Paul Brandt and Terri Clarke. The events were held at the Kelowna Community Theater, owned by the city.
Daybreak Kamloop13:45Free concert tickets for the city of Kamloops
The big shows like Bryan Adams come with advantages: the free ticket dozens go to the city. Jessica Wallace discover who receives them.
Forty tickets were routinely delivered to the city of Prince George for shows in CN Center, the city’s sand, which dates back to almost twenty years, even for: Elton John, Sarah McLachlan and the hip tragically.
And the city of Kamloops received 40 free Live Nation Canada tickets to a Bryan Adams concert in 2023, as part of an agreement to use its public sand, Sandman Center. He received another 40 tickets for Blue Rodeo.
CBC has learned that tickets generally give the mayor and the council, the city staff, the media (including CBC), non -profit and volunteers. Tickets can be given to community groups or used as promotional material, but in some cases, elected officials have been given.
Duff Conacher, co -founder of Democracy Watch, says that these contracts are generally not made public, and that cities should not use them to obtain free tickets in secret. He said that politicians and city staff who accept free tickets are personally benefiting from a public installation or could be using them to buy relationships, if they give them away.
“This is very little ethical to do this,” said Conacher.
Kelowna, Prince George and Victoria Track received by tickets. The city of Kamloops, however, no. Kamloop also stood out for collection rates, requiring the approval of third parties and writing their free contract tickets during the process of requesting freedom of information (FOI).
The written documents were published on October 15, 2024, three months after the initial application, and after the approval of millions in loans to build a new scenic arts center in the center of Kamloops for concerts and other events. CBC then appealed the writings, which led to the publication of the information.
CBC’s investigation found a notable case of free tickets in Kamloop.
The staff of the city’s email show offered two tickets for each game, show and event with drinks to the mayor and the Council for the Memorial Cup, the National Championship of the Canadian Hockey League, which arrived in Kamloop in 2023.
The email said the tickets were being provided to each of them by the host organizing committee due to the “significant support.” The Kamloop Council approved almost a million dollars in improvements to Sandman Center before the event.
“Recognize, approve and quickly track the improvements that Sandman Center needed to maintain our updated facilities was the first step and if those improvements were not made, the Memorial Cup would not reach Kamloop …”, says the email.
“Christmas has arrived earlier this year,” added the executive assistant of the Council.
Kamloop councilor, Bill Sarai, accepted the tickets. He said that it is common for elected officials in communities that house the Memorial Cup receive VIP packages to represent their city and welcome tourists.
“We update Sandman Center to organize the Memorial Cup,” said Sarai. “So, to do that, yes, we have to spend some money. Is it the ultimate goal, ‘Oh, we want to spend a million dollars, so you can get a hundred dollars ticket to go to the Memorial Cup?’ I think that is crazy. “
The corporate officer of the city of Kamloops, Maria Mazzotta, said that the BC Community Charter prohibits the councilors to accept situations of Quid Pro quo, with some exceptions, and requires that the councilors denounced gifts or benefits that exceed $ 250.
Complete event tickets for the Memorial Cup were approximately $ 600 each. When asked if I reported the tickets, Sarai told CBC: “They did not inform me of the value of the package.”
Conacher said that the lack of knowledge does not exempt someone from the sanctions associated with the violation of the community letter and criticized a “escape”, in which gifts are informed to municipal corporate officials, not the public. He said that if an event is important enough for the staff or the council of the city to attend, the city must pay the tickets.
“Because otherwise this is a secret system of possibly commercial favors and should know who benefits from the municipal council or city staff, to know which favors can be doing in exchange for someone,” said Conacher. “It is a dangerously little ethical practice, and the only real solution is not to have free tickets.”
