Aug. 1 Van. Sun article.
The Vancouver Sun, Friday, August 1,1997 85 I
B.C. government opens door for more gambling facilities
Indian bands, municipalities and management companies can submit applications.
JEFF LEE and JUSTINE HUNTER Vancouver Sun
The provincial government opened the door to more gambling Thursday, inviting Indian bands, management companies and even municipalities to submit applications for new facilities.
In asking for proposals, the provincial lotteries advisory committee also said it was living up to a promise to give municipalities a greater say in whether they want new casinos and bingo parlors in their communities.
Under the new rules, the province will not consider any applications where municipalities formally oppose the expansion. And any municipality that remains silent on a proposal will be considered to be opposed, once the application deadline expires November 28 Next-door municipal governments will also have to support any application.
At the same time, the province is relaxing regulations to allow publicy-listed companies to apply for casino management licenses- and that announcement immediately triggered the resignation of a member of the lotteries committee because of a potential conflict of interest.
Lorna Romilly, chair of the B.C. Racing Commission, resigned from the lotteries committee, because her husband, Justice Selwyn Romilly of B.C. Supreme Court, owned shares in a Vancouver Stock Exchange-listed company affiliated with Great Canadian Casinos Ltd.
Lotteries committee chair Peter Clark said the change in policy will allow more investment in casino companies, while at the same time give the government a double opportunity to scrutinize the operators- both through the B.C. Gaming Commission and the B.C. Securities Commission, which regulates listed companies.
Last March the province announced its new gaming policy, which included higher betting limits, longer hours of operation and the installation of slot machines. It also hinted it would open five destination casinos but said they wouldn't be "Las Vegas-style" operations. It also ruled out video lottery terminals, although critics said they differ little from slots. Victoria also promised more money to treat problem gambling and said the new revenues would be devoted to health and education.
But for those groups that have consistently opposed the province's plan to expand the industry, Thursday's announcement was taken as a sign the government had not listened to fears that it will only lead to more crime and gambling addiction.
"I cannot believe that they call this a response to our concerns," said Rev. Robert Smith, co-chair of the Anti-Casino Coalition. "It seems that the government is proceeding along with a misguided assumption, regardless of the evidence that this expansion is wrongheaded. I think this is more damn foolishness and I think it is close to the time to despair."
Smith said he was particularly concerned that the province is determined to open more casinos despite a report by Simon Fraser University economist Richard Lipsey that suggested there would be little public benefit.
Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen also expressed reservations, saying the province has so often contradicted its promises on other issues that he doesn't believe what they say now.
As an example, he said, the province rammed through electronic Keno games in bars over the objection of municipalities, and then went to court to enforce its way when Vancouver threatened to pull business licenses.
Jacee Schaefer, chair of the Casino Management Council, which represents existing casino operators, said the new changes will help applicants target municipalities that want them and reduce conflicts with those that don't,
Schaefer said the policy change allowing public companies to run casinos will inject much-needed capital into the industry.
"In the last 15 years it has been very hard to make money and operators don't have the kind of money they need to make major improvements," she said. "For instance, it will cost $137 million just to bring the 17 existing casinos up to what the government wants now, in terms of space for slot machines."
But here too, opponents say the province has ignored local concerns. While all new casino applications must meet municipal approval, none of the existing facilities need to do so before installing up to 300 slot machines each.
On the same day the province announced the new rules, Vancouver council was turning down a proposal by Great Canadian Casinos to expand its operations at the Holiday Inn on Broadway.
City staff said the proposal didn't meet minimum parking regulations, but Owen admitted council also opposed it on the basis that it will be for slot machines.
Liberal gaming critic Kevin Krueger said the report confirms his fears that the government hasn't properly prepared for its gaming expansion. |
