REGINA — An independent review into how Regina's tourism agency handled a failed rebrand says a junior employee approved sexualized slogans before senior management could vet them.
The third-party party review released Thursday said while some of the slogans had been known among members of a committee made up of Tourism Regina staff, senior management did not rubber-stamp their use before they were made public in March.
Instead, the George B. Cuff & Associate report says a junior staffer had published the slogans online before senior management or the board could look at them.
“The (slogans) are still on the table, the staff member got them in front of them, gets called by the website designer who says, ‘Are we good to go with the slogans?’ And the junior staff member says, ‘Yeah, I guess so,’” George Cuff, the report’s author, told reporters Thursday.
“So, that’s the first time (the agency) probably had an opportunity to make a significant decision, and he did so without getting the green light from somebody up the food chain.”
The slogans received public backlash as they seemed to make lewd reference to the city's name rhyming with vagina, as well as using phrases such as "show us your Regina" and "the city that rhymes with fun."
The review said the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd., which is responsible for Tourism Regina, had been in a state of disorganization, as it was doing the rebrand alongside other high-profile projects.
Former experienced senior leadership had also left the organization, it added, resulting in limited oversight in the review process.
After the fallout, Tourism Regina pulled all rebranding from its website and reverted back to its original logos.
The organization's CEO, Tim Reid, had also apologized.
Reid is to not be fired, as the review says such action would be costly.
No one else is to be let go, Cuff said. He added no one has resigned since the rollout.
“Are we going to somehow extract a pound of flesh, that somehow we’re going to end up as a better organization, by firing either the person who hits the send button?” he said.
“Are we going to fire the CEO, spend copious amounts of money on the severance package, copious amounts of money finding a new one and copious amounts of money getting that person started up all over again?”
Cuff said responsibility squarely lies with the organization.
He recommended it take “a fresh look at itself” and beef up its policies to ensure such failures don't happen again.
Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. said it’s going to review its policies and procedures. It’ll also establish an advisory committee to ensure Tourism Regina is “reflective and inclusive” of the city’s people.
There are no plans for a new rebrand until policies are changed, the association said. Any new changes would also require the blessing of the advisory committee.
The slogans had offended advocates who say the phrases took the city backward in advancing women's rights.
Kristen McLeod, who's part of a group called Reimagine Regina, said she feels the association is dodging responsibility.
"To say the board wasn't aware or responsible, I can accept that part of it. I think what I struggle with is the idea that then it just got kind of foggy," she said. "It doesn't work in my mind. And it seemed to me they were pushing it all off on this nameless person who pushed send on an email."
Cuff's report has cost Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. roughly $90,000. The organization also paid for his travel and spent $30,000 on the rebrand.
McLeod said she believes the affair will cost the city more as it tries to repair the damage done to its reputation.
"All the people, all the businesses, all the tourism agency operators, we're all going to have to work harder to overcome this," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.
Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press
