Will There Be A Toronto Casino Referendum?
While there has been a vote against opening up a casino in downtown Toronto, there has been a major push by some to take the decision to a referendum. The Toronto city council had already rejected the idea of having a casino within the Toronto city limits. While the Mayor, Rob Ford, is in favour of the casino and the large number of well paid jobs it could bring, Premier Kathleen Wynne does not support the idea of a new casino in downtown Toronto. The question that many are asking at this time is whether there will be a Toronto casino referendum held in the fall.
If Toronto Wins, Niagara Falls Loses
Should the decision be made to open a downtown Toronto casino, there will be a large number of jobs new available in Toronto, and there will also be additional income for the city. However, the Mayor of Niagara Falls, Jim Diodati, explained that if there is a casino opened in downtown Toronto, it will come at the expense of the Niagara Falls casinos. There are two casinos in Niagara Falls, the Casino Niagara, and the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort. At this time, there are more than 4,000 people that are employed by casinos in the region.
Mayor Diodati explained: "Unless the province were to make investments into the casinos currently in Niagara Falls the results would be dire. It would result in the loss of upwards of 2,000 jobs and we've already pointed this out to the province."
October Toronto Casino Referendum
The reason why this has become a hot issue again is because the municipal election in Toronto is set to take place on October 27th, 2014. Should the city want to have a referendum on the Toronto downtown casino issue, they would first need to pass a bylaw. The bylaw would need to be approved by April 30th, which is fast approaching. Bylaws can only be approved with at least 10 days notice.
Since there was a decision made in May 2013 that rejected the casino proposal, in order to reopen this decision, there would need to be at least two-thirds of the city council who wish to do so.
Mayor Ford said: "I've always been in favour of putting the casino, the subways, a whole list of questions on the ballot."
While Mayor Ford would like this question to come to a referendum, others dismiss this out of hand. In a somewhat flippant comment last week, the Toronto Coun. Adam Vaughan said: "The casion has about as much luck getting approved in a referendum as Rob Ford does getting re-elected mayor."
