Corbella-Canada logo-What can one say? How much else don't we know?

"The logo -- also called the Canada wordmark -- can be found on most government websites, on all federal government buildings and also at special events sponsored by the feds.

In previously secret Liberal cabinet documents, made public as a result of the inquiry by Justice John Gomery into the federal Liberal government's sponsorship scandal, it was revealed eight Liberal-friendly advertising firms charged taxpayers $989,000 for "development and consulting" of the Canada logo.

But now, it turns out, the wordmark was developed long ago.

Michelle Laliberte, a spokesperson with the federal government's Treasury Board Secretariat, said the wordmark was first developed in 1965 by a now defunct government agency called the Canadian Government Travel Bureau.

"It was developed for a newspaper advertisement and it kind of took off from there. It's become an official symbol of the government and has been legally protected and trademarked," said Laliberte yesterday.

In other words, Canadians paid $1 million for the development of something they already owned. "