Demands from the Royal Canadian Mint that the city of Toronto pay for using pictures of a penny in its “One Cent” campaign to lobby for more municipal funding are probably politically motivated, city spokesmen said yesterday.

The mint is demanding the city pay $47,680 for using a picture of the “tails” side of a Canadian penny in its brochures, banners and advertisements for the campaign, aimed at persuading Ottawa to set aside one cent of every six collected under the goods and services tax (GST) for municipalities. The mint is also seeking compensation for the city’s use of the phrase “one cent” in the campaign.

“I find the timing of this very interesting,” said Don Wanagas, a spokesman for Mayor David Miller. “All of a sudden, now that our campaign has really gotten going, they go public with this. “But I can only guess at their [the mint’s] motives.”