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11-006_TGO Advertising Policy_202511-006 Page 1 of 7 TRANSPORATION Policy 11 -006 : T:GO Advertising Policy Approval Date: July 13, 2020 Approval Authority: Council, By-Law 2020-072 Effective Date: August 01, 2020 Next Scheduled Review Year: 2025 Department: Operations Services Last reviewed: Revision Date/s: Schedules: POLICY STATEMENT The Town of Tillsonburg welcomes and encourages advertising. All advertising shall be consistent with the Town of Tillsonburg’s vision, mission, and values, and will not compromise or contradict any by-law or policy of the Town, or negatively reflect on the Town’s reputation or public image. The T:GO Advertising Policy is based on providing guidance on acceptable advertising to be posted on transit vehicles operating under contract with the Town of Tillsonburg. The Town is guided by the general principles embodied in the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, in determining the acceptance of advertising. The Town will not accept advertising of questionable taste or which is irritating in its content or method of presentation. Advertising must not condone any form of personal discrimination, including discrimination on a prohibited ground pursuant to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Province of Ontario’s Human Rights Code. 11-006 Page 2 of 7 Advertising, including advertising of a political or a religious nature, is permitted provided that it meets the requirements of these Standards and of generally accepted advertising standards, including the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. However, all political advertising will indicate that the advertisement is paid for by a party or candidate so as to avoid giving the impression that the Town is supporting a given party or candidate. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees everyone the rights and freedoms set out therein, including the right to freedom of expression. In a 2009 court decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a public transit agency is subject to the Charter in its role as the host of the advertising. In choosing to accept advertising on T:GO vehicles, the Town must not limit the expression of an Advertiser by refusing an Advertisement except as permitted under Section 1 and/or 2(b) of the Charter as applicable. Advertising that promotes the values of the Town of Tillsonburg shall be encouraged to promote: Connected – A strong sense of community, a history of engagement and collaboration, and strong connections to surrounding markets based on a strategic location within Southwestern Ontario. Enriched – A high quality of life evidenced by community centre programs, opportunities to be meaningfully involved, abundance of parks and green spaces, and a rural/ urban influence that combines for a sustainable, comfortable pace. Inspired – An entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic with leadership in agri- business and related ventures and a track record of “Made in Tillsonburg” solutions. SCOPE This policy applies to the operation of T:GO Transit for both the In-Town service and the Inter-Community Pilot Project service. DEFINITIONS Advertisement is defined as any message (the content of which is controlled by the Advertiser), or proposed message, with the intent to influence T:GO riders’ choice, opinion or behavior, which message is posted (or is to be posted), and includes Advocacy Advertisements and Election Signs. Advertiser is defined as the entity requesting from the Company to post Advertisements on T:GO operated vehicles or property. 11-006 Page 3 of 7 Advertising Standards Canada is the not-for-profit Canadian advertising industry body committed to creating and maintaining community confidence in advertising and to ensuring the integrity and viability of advertising through industry self-regulation. Advocacy Advertisement is defined as an Advertisement which presents information or a point-of-view that attempts to influence public opinion on specific political, economic or social issues. Applicable Laws is defined as any federal, provincial or municipal law, rule, statute, regulation, by-law (including Town of Tillsonburg by-laws), order, ordinance, protocol, policy, notice, direction, judgment or other requirement issued by any government, board, commission or tribunal, or any court or regulation-making entity, or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over advertising. Applicable laws shall include T:GO policies. For greater clarity, Applicable laws include the Ontario Human Rights Code. Canadian Code of Advertising Standards is the Advertising Standards of Canada Code and is the advertising industry’s principal instrument of advertising self-regulation in Canada administered by Advertising Standards Canada. The Advertising Standards Canada Code sets the criteria for acceptable advertising and forms the basis upon which advertising is evaluated in response to consumer, trade or special interest group complaints. Company is defined as the entity which has contracted with the Town of Tillsonburg for the right to sell advertising space on T:GO Property for the purpose of posting Advertisements. Election Signs is defined as any sign, including an outsider election sign, advertising or promoting a candidate in a federal, provincial or municipal election, including an election of a local board or commission; or a sign intended to influence persons to vote for or against any candidate or any question or bylaw submitted to the electors under Section 8 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Operator is defined as the contractor and their employees operating the service through a contract with the Town of Tillsonburg. Service Area is defined as the Communities served with transit stops including the Town of Tillsonburg. T:GO Property is defined as all lands, facilities, structures, stations and vehicles owned, leased, occupied, maintained or operated on behalf of T:GO. 11-006 Page 4 of 7 IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE 1. Advertising: The Town encourages advertising that: • Recognizes the changing roles of men and women in today’s society and reflects this in the distribution of labour, the range of occupations shown and the assignment of roles in the workplace and in the home; • Portrays people as they are – of varying ages, appearances, ethnic and cultural heritages; • Portrays people as users, buyers and decision makers, and not as inappropriately dependent upon the product being advertised; • Uses models for other than solely attention getting purposes, avoiding particularly the display of lightly clothed models whose presence is not relevant to the product being advertised; • Portrays positive body images of people, avoiding the use of extreme and inappropriate postures that inappropriately accentuate one part of the body, thereby fragmenting that part from the total person; and, • Promotes the values and vision of the local economy within the Town of Tillsonburg and surrounding area. The Town will only accept advertising that does not, in the opinion of the Town, disparage any Town service or promote a product by drawing a negative comparison with a Town service, or discourages the use of public transit. In keeping with the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, in all cases, advertising shall not: • Demean, denigrate, or disparage any identifiable person, group or persons, organization, profession, product or service, or attempt to bring them into any public contempt or ridicule; • Undermine human dignity, or display obvious indifference to, or encourage, gratuitously and without merit, conduct or attitudes that offend the standards of public decency among a significant segment of a population; and, 11-006 Page 5 of 7 • Appear in a realistic manner to exploit, condone or incite violence, nor appear to condone, encourage or exhibit obvious indifference to unlawful behaviour. Although the Town is guided by the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, the Town is the sole and final arbiter in all matters relating to advertising acceptance. The Town may refuse, or order removal of any advertising material at any time at its absolute discretion. 2. Disagreement: The following process shall be applied in cases of disagreement between the Company and a potential advertiser: • Potential advertisers shall deal with the Company directly, and the Company shall interpret the policy. If there is disagreement between the Company and a potential advertiser on policy interpretation, the matter may be referred to the Town; • A contract must be signed with the Company before the matter will be considered by the Town. In cases where the content of the ad is in dispute, the contract will be signed “subject to approval” by the Town; • Town staff charged with the responsibility of interpreting and implementing the Town advertising policy may overrule decisions made by the Company. Should a change in policy be requested or a question of policy interpretation be raised by potential advertisers, the Town may become involved, at its discretion. The Town continues to be the sole and final arbiter in all matters relating to Town advertising acceptance. Tobacco and Vaping product Advertisements are not acceptable. Any displays depicting the use of tobacco and vaping or consumption of tobacco or vaping products shall be refused. The Company agrees that advertising is to be accepted based on all current or future policies of acceptable advertising and the Town shall not be held responsible for any loss of advertising business as a result of any changes it shall make in its policy regarding the acceptability of certain types of advertising or individual advertisements. Advertisements of alcoholic products may be accepted so long as permitted by law whether Federal, Provincial or Municipal or the Liquor Licencing Board of 11-006 Page 6 of 7 Ontario. Notwithstanding the above, the Town may at any time, by providing the Company with 90 days advance notice, alter its policy on the advertising of alcoholic products. 3. Complaints: A person wishing to make a complaint about an Advertisement posted on T:GO Property may file the complaint with Advertising Standards Canada at www.adstandards.com Should the Operator or the Town receive a complaint of an Advertisement posted on T:GO Property, the Operator and the Town shall direct the complainant to file the complaint with Advertising Standards Canada at www.adstandards.com In the event that Advertising Standards Canada determines that a complaint in not within its mandate to investigate, the complaint shall be referred to the Town for review to determine whether the Advertisement at issue complies with the Guidelines for Acceptance as set out in this policy. The Town shall have the right to reject, remove, or to have the Company remove, any Advertisement from Town Property at no cost to the Town. 4. Service Disruptions: It is understood that best efforts are made to ensure vehicles are operating on the routes as much as possible. In the event of a vehicle with advertising is out of service for whatever reason, there will not be any refund provided. 5. Advertising Terms: Advertisers must adhere to the following terms thorough the Company: • Advertisers will be responsible for ordering, purchasing and delivery of their advertising sign. • Advertising signs will comply with the specifications set forth by the Company. • The advertiser will be responsible for all associated costs (materials, labour, artwork, etc.) for the ad(s). • Approved ads will be installed by the Company. • Expired ads will be removed from their locations by the Company. • Advertising expiration dates will be in the terms of the contract. All contracts will have specified terms with a clear time limit. The Company shall obtain both local and small business advertisers along with national advertisers to maximize the revenue generated through the best market value for the 11-006 Page 7 of 7 advertising space. The Company will be paid a commission based on the advertising sales and all other services to be provided. Preference is to be given to local and small businesses in both pricing and scheduling for placement of ads on the bus. The Town of Tillsonburg reserves the right to schedule advertising space for its own purposes to promote services and public messages as the Town feels necessary.