Confusion Over Toronto Casino Hosting Fees Promise
Plans by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp (OLG) to go through with an overhaul of the province's gambling industry may be threatened by a new motion carried by the Ontario Legislature on March 28th.
The new Ontario racing motion was introduced by Essex's New Democratic Party MPP Taras Natyshak and passed with a 53-33 margin, supported by the NDP and PC Parties and voted against by the Liberals.
The motion, among other things, calls for a halt on the changes facing the slots-at-racetracks program in Ontario, and the suspension on the OLG's gaming modernization plans.
After the motion carried, Natyshak said that it goes a long way towards addressing the serious missteps being made in the modernization of the OLG and the horseracing industry.
"The thousands of Ontarians who depend on the horseracing industry can sleep a little easier knowing their future is more secure, and Ontarians concerned about casinos being forced into their backyards can be assured that they will have an equal voice in the decision," he said.
New Ontario Racing Motion
The motion demands that a panel be appointed to establish clear limits as to how much can be spent in casino referendum campaigns.
Some of the text of the motion includes:
"Implementation of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation's transformation of gaming strategy be suspended until after the 2014 Ontario municipal elections in order to allow municipalities wanting to be a host site for a casino to undertake a referendum on the issue on the 2014 ballot."
It also calls for "changes to the Slots at the Racetracks partnership to be frozen, in order to enable the horseracing industry to continue to operate while the government engages the industry in a robust consultation with the goal of ensuring its survival, stability and growth."
Ontario Racing Industry Thanks Party Support
Those parties who supported the motion were thanked by the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association.
The association said that the industry is currently "in crisis" and saw no long term replacement plan for the Slots at Racetracks program which is set to end in a few days.
The President of the association, Sue Leslie said that industry workers and investors were "scared to death" as they watched their livelihoods fall apart.
"Unless the government takes action to integrate our industry into the gaming modernization strategy, the industry will continue to fall apart," she warned.
