City Mayor Fights for Toronto Casino
Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, is continuing to lobby furiously to move forward with the idea of constructing a new casino resort in the city, ahead of a full council vote on May 7th.
This week, positive progress was made when executive members met on Tuesday and voted 9-4 to indicate to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp that the council was ready to progress with the new casino, as long as 43 conditions - that were recommended in a specially commissioned city manager report - were met.
The executive members added a few conditions of their own before taking the vote this week, including one that all hosting fees from the casino should go to public transit expansion, and that a labour peace agreement be signed to ensure that "convention and gaming operations are not affected by labour disruptions."
When council meets on May 7th and 8th, it will be decided whether to take the proposal one step further.
Ford Rejects Casino Health Warnings
Rob Ford has managed to irk the city's medical officer by rejecting research cited by the officer that casinos lead to higher problem gamblers.
Said Ford in a statement: "I just don't buy these arguments - as a matter of fact they just don't exist. They might as well ban food for fat guys like me, close down every McDonald's drive-through. You have to have some control."
Optimism Despite Opposition
Mayor Ford continues to be optimistic that his council will vote in favor of a casino to be constructed in Toronto at two possible venues, despite that fact that latest survey results indicate that 25 councillors say that they intend to vote against the idea. Only 23 nays are needed to stop the casino proposal in its tracks.
A casino will not be allowed even if the final vote is 22-22.
According to one of the opponents of the casino, Councillor Mike Layton, many of his colleagues "are actually getting more and more calls from their constituents saying they don't want to see a Toronto casino."
"I'm not surprised some of the mayor's closest allies are starting to leave him on this one," said Layton.
As Ford fights for a Toronto casino, some of the reasons that opponents of the casino cite for voting against the idea include the chance of the increase of gambling addictions and the cannabilization of other casinos in the area, particularly the one at Woodbine Racetrack.
