B.C. First Nations want piece of gambling pie
Posted June 28, 2010 4:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Some B.C. First Nations want a cut of provincial gaming revenues. That’s the desire of the B.C. First Nations Summit, which represents the province’s native communities and tribal councils.
Chief Joe Hall, the chair of the First Nations Gaming Committee, says unlike other provinces, B.C. doesn’t share its gambling revenue with First Nations and it’s time to hammer out an agreement.
He says the federal government gave the provinces control of gambling in 1988. “We don’t feel that they had the authority to do that, so hence we take the position that the provincial gaming regulations don’t apply on First Nations lands,” he says.
One option First Nations are looking at is setting up their own casinos on their own land, something that is common in other provinces. Only the Casino of the Rockies in Cranbrook is associated with a B.C. native community.
