Last updated: February 22, 2023

As Canada’s leading business and tech journalism outlet, The Logic adheres to a set of core values, ethics and standards.

Since The Logic publishes in the public interest, its first obligation is to its readers, delivering trustworthy journalism and being as transparent as possible about its operations.

To prevent conflicts of interest and to ensure our editorial independence, The Logic keeps its newsroom operations separate from its business operations. The Logic’s commercial partners have no influence on its journalism. 

Accepting an investment, sponsorship or grant doesn’t mean The Logic endorses the organization or individual behind it, nor does it exempt them from The Logic’s journalistic scrutiny. 

In order to ensure continued public confidence in the integrity of its product, The Logic reserves the right to reject any commercial partnership that could adversely affect its brand.

Advertising and sponsorship in The Logic’s editorial products

The Logic sells ad space in its editorial products, including its newsletters, website and mobile app. The Logic also sells sponsorships for the live journalism events it stages in person and virtually. 

The Logic’s business team manages these commercial relationships, which are conducted without the knowledge or input of the editorial team. Advertisers and sponsors have no direct or indirect say in The Logic’s editorial operations. 

The Logic’s Chief Executive Officer must approve all commercial messages carried on The Logic’s platforms prior to placement. The Logic reserves the right to accept or refuse any commercial message, to limit the period of time for which a commercial message is approved and/or to withdraw its approval. Detailed information on The Logic’s advertising standards appears at the bottom of this document.

Ads and other commercial messages appearing in The Logic’s products will always be labelled clearly, under these categories:

“A Message From”

This label appears on advertisements. This content is paid for and produced by the advertiser; The Logic only hosts it. The Logic’s newsroom is not involved in its creation or in discussions about its placement.

“Presented By”/“Knowledge Partner”

These labels mean an advertiser has paid to have their brand message appear adjacent to The Logic’s journalism. Advertisers will sometimes buy placement next to stories on certain topics or themes, the advertiser has no influence on or oversight of the journalism, and The Logic’s newsroom is not involved in the commercial relationship or in discussions about these placements. The newsroom does not commission journalism on a topic or theme simply because an advertiser is interested in sponsoring.

“Sponsored By”

This label appears on advertising content, which The Logic often calls “directed content.” These features are paid for and directed by the advertiser rather than by the newsroom. The Logic’s newsroom has no involvement with them. The Logic’s business team produces the feature based on a theme mutually agreed upon with the advertiser. The advertiser does not have final editorial say over the feature. Any such feature includes full, clear disclosures and recognition of the advertiser.

Sponsorship of The Logic’s events 

The Logic regularly holds virtual and in-person events with newsmakers, subscribers and prospective readers. Some of these events take the form of public “live journalism,” while others are focused on building connections and sparking conversations within the communities The Logic covers.

These events are often supported by advertisers. The same guidelines and standards that apply to advertising in The Logic’s other editorial products also apply to its events.

As is the case in all its operations, with its events The Logic takes care to minimize the possibility of any conflicts of interest, real or perceived. For example, The Logic will make every effort to host events at locations generally considered publicly accessible convening spaces.

The Logic doesn’t do “pay to play” events—those at which advertisers and sponsors are guaranteed to be featured or involved in the programming. While advertisers may provide opening remarks at events, they are not guaranteed keynote speaking spots or spots on panel discussions. The Logic retains final say on all event topics and speakers. 

Because The Logic aspires to be as transparent as possible in our editorial operations, we have a duty to inform our readers if an advertiser is getting access to our journalists. As a result, all public Logic-hosted events which The Logic’s journalists attend are considered on-the-record by default. It’s always at the journalist’s discretion whether they agree to go on background or off the record.

The Logic as media partner/sponsor

The Logic sometimes partners with other organizations to build brand awareness or support journalistic causes. In such cases, it will often be listed as a “media partner” or “media sponsor” of a third-party event or campaign. However, The Logic never promises that its newsroom will cover an event or campaign as part of such an agreement. Media partnerships may include in-kind arrangements according to the guidelines above. 

Private events

The Logic sometimes convenes private, invitation-only gatherings to provide opportunities for networking or different kinds of conversations within communities. These events are held under Chatham House Rule to allow for more open dialogue between guests. These events are often supported by advertisers. Advertisers may provide limited opening remarks at these gatherings, but they are not guaranteed speaking spots. These conversations are open in scope on the selected topic and not driven by any one guest or advertiser. The Logic has the final say on event topics and guest lists. 

If The Logic’s journalists wish to attend these events, they require the approval of the newsroom’s most senior editor. The Logic’s journalists are under no obligation to interact with advertisers at these events in any way that would suggest preferential access or compromise their journalistic independence. 

Advertising standards

It is the responsibility of the advertiser to ensure its advertisements running in The Logic comply with the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, administered by Advertising Standards Canada, and all federal and provincial regulations. 

If you have a concern about an ad you see running in The Logic, you can submit a complaint directly to the ad standards council here. More information on the complaint procedure can be found here.  

The Logic will not accept advertising it considers deceptive or misleading, whether by the omission of relevant information or by the arrangement of accurate information in a way that might mislead.

The Logic’s audiences and website visitors must know on whose behalf a commercial message is being shared. Advertisements that directly promote brand-name products or services of the advertiser normally satisfy that requirement. When that is not the case, the message must include identification of the advertiser responsible for the message. The Logic will consider limited exceptions to this principle, for example when the advertiser is prevented by law from disclosing its full identity.

No advertisements posted on The Logic’s platforms may imply an endorsement or give the appearance of an endorsement on The Logic’s part. No advertisements may imply that The Logic or its employees use a product or service.

The Logic won’t publish commercial messages in which The Logic’s employees endorse a product, service, or point of view.

The Logic will sometimes carry “advocacy advertising.” This is what we call commercial messages that promote a perspective on a matter of public interest, or that encourage people to take action on an issue. The Logic doesn’t accept advocacy advertising that implies it endorses the message. The Logic may also impose limits on when and for how long it will run these ads.

The Logic does not accept some advertising, including:

• Advertising for tobacco products or companies, or for things they sponsor;
• advertisements for The Logic’s competitors;
• advertisements that could put The Logic at risk legally.

Advertisements promoting gambling and other contests must comply with the Criminal Code, the Competition Act and any other relevant laws and regulations.