Ontario Lottery Board Resigns En Masse
The entire board of the Ontario Lottery Corporation (OLG) has resigned after chairman, Paul Godfrey was ousted on Thursday last week.
Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa called a meeting with Godfrey on Thursday afternoon to give him his walking papers.
At a news conference that night, Godfrey said: "I haven't been given any reason for this decision, nor do I think there's a particularly good one."
Godfrey gave a rundown of his successes as chairman of the OLG - a position he has held since 2010 - and said that the lottery corporation had enjoyed back to back years of record revenues as a result of his leadership.
"I will look back fondly on my experience with the OLG," he said. "My main concern is that the momentum created, could falter."
The government's statement was without explanation as to why Godfrey was asked to leave, simply saying: "The Government of Ontario appreciates the commitment that Mr. Godfrey has made as chair of OLG and thanks him for the significant accomplishments made during this period."
Sousa also noted how the OLG had flourished under Godfrey's leadership.
"Chemistry Difference" Between Premier and OLG Chairman
According to Godfrey, he and the Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne did not share the same vision for a new casino in Toronto and for overall plans to modernize the province's gambling industry.
He said that there was "chemistry difference" between himself and Ontario Premier Wynne. "Some people you connect with, some people you don't," he said.
As the Ontario Lottery board resigned, Godfrey attacked the ruling Liberals and said that they were constantly sending "mixed messages" over the modernization plans.
Toronto Casino Deal Effectively "Dead"
Godfrey's dramatic announcement, and the subsequent resignation en masse by his board, came on the same day that Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford called the casino proposal "dead", as the province wasn't ready to commit to a hosting fee of up to $100 million a year.
"I'm not married to a casino. I didn't campaign on a casino. If the province won't agree to $100 million for Toronto, then the deal is dead. We are not going to carry on with the casino debate," said Ford.
At the news conference on Thursday night, Godfrey defended offering Toronto the $100 million hosting fee, saying that they were approved by the province's previous finance minister, Dwight Duncan.
"It wasn't a sweet deal that we offered the city," he noted. "This was a deal Minister Duncan approved and told us to go and negotiate with the city."
