NDP: Why are public funds going to casinos?
Posted January 9, 2011 1:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – An NDP MLA wants the provincial government to be upfront about the money it pours into casinos. Spencer Chandra Herbert is responding to the revelation that $400 million has been paid out to casinos since 1997.
He is calling on Victoria to explain why much-needed money is going to big business. “What I don’t understand is why some of the most profitable companies in BC aren’t investing in their facilities themselves. Why they would expect government revenue to be used to go in to subsidize car parts, show lounges, etc.”
Chandra Herbert adds the funding arrangement is especially questionable, given arts groups that rely on gaming subsidies have had their funding slashed. The province says it returns gambling revenue to casinos for their capital costs, and considers them performance commissions.
The revelations come as the City of Vancouver is set to decide whether to approve an expanded Edgewater Casino next to BC Place.
Meanwhile, Solicitor General Rich Coleman says casinos are paid to maintain their facilities in top-notch shape, but the upgrades are still owned by the government. “When you walk into a casino in British Columbia, everything you see, slot machines, all the wiring and the stuff you don’t see like the cameras, is all owned by the province. It’s not owned by the service provider.”
He says it’s ironic that the NDP would raise their concerns now because the long-term agreement on facilities has existed back in the days when the New Democrats were still in power.
