Debate over casino continues

By Matthew Blair

BELLEVILLE –The debate over a casino coming to Belleville continues to rage.

Mayor Neil Ellis says the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is expecting construction of the casino to start in Belleville this year. But an OLG spokesman told QNetNews that it is still a

possibility that Quinte West could get the casino.

“The goal is to choose one service provider to operate the day-to-day operations of the two existing gaming sites (in this region – in Gananoque and Peterborough) and to build a new one in Belleville or Quinte West,” Toni Bitonti said. “The successful service provider will make the best business case for either a new facility in Belleville or Quinte West.”

Ellis says Quinte West has never zoned any land for a casino. In reponse, Bitonti said it’s not for the OLG to list all the pros and cons of each community in the running. It is up to the private-sector operator to look at all those factors, develop a business plan and seek all the approvals, he said.

“The successful private-sector operator … will put together a business case on building in either Belleville or Quinte West,” Bitoni said in an email to QNet News. “Three parties have to be in agreement on where the facility is built. Those parties are the operators (which is putting up the money), the city (it oversees the local building bylaws, etc.) and OLG (which oversees gambling
in the province). Also the province of Ontario has to sign off on the whole plan.”

Quinte West Mayor John Williams was unavailable for comment, but two of the municipality’s councillors indicated that they think it is unlikely the casino will go there.

“The OLG drew maps of where they wanted to have a casino. A little corner of Quinte West is included in that. Going by the maps that they drew, the likelihood of it being here is almost nil,”

Councillor Sally Freeman.Councillor Doug Whitney said it’s been a year or longer since there were talks at Quinte West council about a casino.

“Nobody really knows what’s going on,” he said.

Two city councillors in Belleville, Garnet Thompson and Egerton Boyce, also said they haven’t received formal confirmation that Belleville will be chosen over Quinte West for the casino. But both councillors support a casino in Belleville.

“It will create jobs. It will create revenue for the municipality,” said Boyce. “If Belleville didn’t get it and it went to Quinte West, it would simply mean the people of Belleville would be putting their money into Quinte West.”

Councillor Jodie Jenkins is the only council member who has voiced opposition. He says a casino is a bad idea.

“I don’t believe it will bring anything. I believe it’ll just suck our local economy dry,” said Jenkins. “My guess is that it’s just going to be a tin shack with a bunch of slot machines. The
whole process has been a joke. I think the city looks foolish because we rushed into it.”

But Mayor Ellis says a casino will help boost the local economy and create 300 to 500 jobs.

“It’s probably going to be one of the biggest economic spinoffs in the history of the city,” he told QNet News.

Orland French, a Belleville journalist, has a different point of view. Last year French wrote an article for the United Church Observer on the topic of casinos and gambling.

“In my lifetime, I have gone from being a criminal if I bought a lottery ticket to being less than a patriotic Canadian if I don’t. Such has been the dramatic transformation in gambling laws in this country in the last half-century,” French wrote.

Like Jenkins, French said he believes a casino coming to the Belleville area is a bad idea.

“There seems to be a feeling that a casino is due. They do bring in money from their proceeds that go to the municipalities, so the municipalities get some money out of it, but mostly, as far as
I’m concerned, it’s an additional voluntary tax. There are a significant number of people in the population who don’t believe the casino is a major contribution to the economy here. Generally
in my opinion it’s people who can’t afford it (who spend money at casinos). It’s an unfair
system.”