We are asking our supporters to come to City Hall on WEDNESDAY July 23 [NOTE: this is a change from Tuesday July 22] to support a motion being put forward to Vancouver City Council by CouncILLOR Adriane Carr.

[Update late Tues: Adriane’s motion got a seconder – George Affleck. This means the motion will be presented tomorrow, Wednesday, sometime before noon most likely. The committee meeting starts at 9:30 and Adriane’s motion is 4th on the list. But we’ll update you regularly! Please plan on coming!]

WITH YOUR HELP we can force Michael Graydon’s ouster as CEO of Paragon Gaming.

AND

 

We can get Council to impose a restrictive covenant banning gambling expansion on Edgewater’s new site.

Councillor Adriane Carr will table a motion on Tuesday, July 22, asking that Vancouver Council request the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch to direct his removal, AND for an anti-expansion restrictive covenant to be placed on the BC Place lands as a Development Permit condition. The motion will then be put forward to Wednesday for discussion.

WE NEED YOU TO COME TO COUNCIL AND SPEAK TO THIS MOTION (if speakers are allowed, and we’ll know that on Tuesday) ON WEDNESDAY MORNING at 9:30.

Please register by CALLING 311 before 5 pm on Monday, or by REGISTERING IN PERSON on Tuesday by 9:15.

Say you want to speak to Councillor Carr’s motion B4.

Tell City Council that Michael Graydon and Paragon Gaming have to pay for their misconduct. We need government with the guts to say no to special treatment for insiders.

Thanks so much!

More background here:

https://www.vancouversun.com/Vaughn+Palmer+BCLC+boondoggle+puts+Liberals+business+savvy+question/10019353/story.html

Today several members of our Vancouver Not Vegas! Coalition are speaking to Vancouver City Council on the topic of general gaming expansion in the City of Vancouver. The opportunity to speak to Council has come as a result of a motion by Councillor Ellen Woodsworth, calling for further examination of gaming practices in British Columbia before the City of Vancouver proceeds with allowing further gaming expansion within its jurisdiction.

Our coalition is speaking in support of Councillor Woodsworth’s motion.

For presentations by Amir Alibhai, Sean Bickerton and Tom Durrie, read on. For a longer presentation by Sandy Garossino, click here.

Amir Ali Alibhai

January 31, 2011
Dear Mayor and Council:

The Alliance for Arts and Culture encourages Mayor and Council to adopt the
motion, moved by Councillors Woodsworth and Cadman regarding Casino
Development in our City. We have also been asked to speak on behalf of the
BC Association for Charitable Gaming (BCACG), which has submitted a written
submission. Together our organizations represent over 6,500 member
organizations and individuals. Motion B.6 addresses growing concerns in
this City and Province that Gaming has been expanded in an unchecked manner
and operates in a non-transparent and potentially conflicted way. The huge
revenues generated through this aggressive expansion have been attained on
the backs of charities, non-profits, municipalities and communities across
this province. In spite of this increase in revenues, the amount of funds
provided to charities and non-profits has decreased! We estimate that the
recent loss of funds to Metro Vancouver arts and cultural organizations will
be about $4 Million annually!

For years, charities and non-profits, including those in the arts and
cultural sector have been trotted out in front of municipal councils to
support expansion of Gaming activities. This was done with the understanding
that a significant percentage of revenues would be returned to communities
through a promised share to charities and non-profits. Alas this has not
been the case and, in fact, the amount of money that is allocated to civil
society organizations from these growing revenues has decreased.

In 2010, 10.7% of Gaming Revenues were allocated to charities and
non-profits, which is a far cry from the 33%, which the Province promised to
the sector in its 1999 agreement with the BCACG. On the same day in 1999,
the Province signed an agreement with the UBCM to allocate 16.5% of revenues
from Destination Casinos to municipalities. There is little doubt that this
legal agreement has also been broken.

Our members can no longer support the expansion of Gaming in BC until
agreements are re-made and are binding, until the transparency of Gaming
activity in this province is addressed., and until the concerns of the
public regarding the social, economic, and health impacts of expansion in
their communities are heard and considered carefully.

We refer Council to the MOAs and useful information regarding the expansion
of Gaming in the links below.

a) BCACG
https://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/pubdocs/bcdocs/336215/game_append4.htm

b) UBCM
https://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/pubdocs/bcdocs/336215/game_append3.htm

https://bcacg.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/BCACG-Petition-and-Brief-of-Mate
rial-BC-Gaming-Legislation.pdf

Sincerely,
Amir Ali Alibhai
Executive Director, Alliance for Arts & Culture
and on behalf of Susan Marsden,
Executive Director, BC Association for Charitable Gaming

________________________________

Sean Bickerton

Dear Mr. Mayor, Councillors and Dr. Ballem:

I apologize I cannot be there in person this evening to deliver these remarks. I was there this morning, but the change to this evening makes it impossible for me to be there tonight.

My name is Sean Bickerton. I am chair of my strata at Paris Place, co-chair of the Keefer Community Group, a member of the steering committee of the False Creek Residents Association and a member of the Vancouver Not Vegas! Coalition.

It is in this capacity and on my own behalf that I am supporting Ellen Woodsworth’s motion B6 on Casino Development. I remember when the gambling it addresses was first legalized in this province and it was on the solemn promise that 1/3 of the revenue would go back to local community charities, sports, arts and education.

Instead, they’ve cut the charities off completely while handing out more than four hundred million dollars to private casino owners over the past ten years!

How can we then consider such a massive expansion of gambling in our city after the compact that made legalized gambling possible in the first place has been completely abrogated?

The broader community I represent fully supports honoring the original arrangement wherein 1/3 of lottery funds supported needed charities helping local communities.

While we realize that issue itself may fall outside of the normal purview of this government, you are more than entitled to ask questions of the senior level of government now asking you to endorse placing the largest casino in Western Canada right in the heart of our stunningly beautiful, richly cultured, creative city.

I feel Councillor Woodsworth’s motion is particularly germane when you are being asked to approve a rezoning, development application, gambling license expansion and gambling license move all in one vote.

For all of these reasons, expansion should be put on hold until Councillor Woodsworth’s questions are answered.

I appreciate your consideration,
Sean Bickerton

________________________________

Tom Durrie

February 1, 2011
Vancouver City Council
Standing Committee of Council on City Services and Budgets

Mr. Chariman, Mr. Mayor, Councillors, ladies and gentlemen.

First let me say how much I appreciate and value to opportunity to speak to you on matters that are of personal concern to me. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that I strongly support the motion currently before you.

Before coming here, I decided to satisfy my curiosity about how we arrived at the situation we are facing today with regard gambling revenues. It’s a very interesting history, starting with the Criminal Code of 1892.prohibiting all forms and gambling as offences against religion and morals. Early on though, things like raffles and games of chance were allowed at agricultural fairs and exhibitions. Since then, there has been a step by step relaxation of restrictions on gambling, with the major change in federal policy happening in 1969, when the Criminal Code was amended to permit gambling. I’m sure the public saw this change as merely an expansion of activities like church basement bingos and PTA raffles, a harmless way of making a little money for a good cause. And it’s true that charities and non-profits have been especially active in influencing these changes. In other words, charities and non-profits provided the justification—or should I say leverage—for changes in government gambling policies.

Amendment to the Criminal Code gave the provinces more and more control of various forms of gambling with the understanding that charities were receiving their share. In fact, they were becoming increasingly dependent upon this source of revenue.

In the mid-1980s, the British Columbia government moved to curtail the expansion of gambling in response to police concerns about the involvement of organized crime. That was more than 20 years ago! However, a backlash by the non-profit sector—they didn’t want to lose their money—caused the government to reconsider. A number of new regulations were introduced including one that said that non-profit organizations would receive 50% of casino winnings. I wonder what ever happened to that!
In short, this history has been a slow process of government raking a larger and larger share out of the hands of charities and into general revenues. Small changes taking place over a period of time are not always noticed. It’s rather like looking at yourself in the mirror one morning and noticing that you’re not as young as you used to be.

Through the 1990s various government studies and commissions looked at how proceeds from gambling were to be distributed, and made some regulations, including the establishment of the Provincial Charity Trust, a kind of community chest funding model. Without going into details, a challenge resulted in the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruling that the provincial government had no authority to appropriate a share of gambling revenues intended for charitable or religious organizations. So much for that! I’m sure you’re aware of the agreement of 1999 guaranteeing one third of gambling proceeds to charities. I understand that the government has seen fit to reduce this to something around 10%, while, at the same time, placing the Lottery Corporation and the Enforcement Branch conveniently under one ministry.

The original purpose of allowing gambling has been reversed, and much of this has been quietly slipped under the door without the awareness or consent of the public. I think this is changing as people see the results of funding shortfalls being experienced by community charities, sports, and arts groups. This motion is a step toward restoring public confidence in how gambling is regulated. What with a provincial election coming who-knows-when, and a civic election coming you-know-when, I hope you will think of your legacy, especially now, by letting the people who elected you know that you’re on their side.

Thank you,
Tom Durrie

UPDATE: Councillor Woodsworth’s motion to Vancouver City Council was passed! The motion essentially calls for a postponement of gaming expansion in Vancouver until there’s been proper inquiry into gambling irregularities and cuts to charities, all of which have an impact on the City of Vancouver. The motion was finally presented to City Council at about 11 pm on Tuesday, January 18 in the Vancouver City Council chambers. After members of our coalition and others spoke in support of the motion, Coun. Woodsworth’s motion passed nearly unanimously.

**Please note that Woodsworth’s motion was amended slightly before being passed; the finalized motion is below.**

Note: When this motion was first introduced into Council in mid-January, many councillors did speak out against gambling or asked pointed questions. Some felt this marks a genuine change of heart in Vision and beyond; others claim it was merely political theatre on the part of Council, aimed at PavCo and Paragon Gaming as a way of extracting more concessions from them. Time will tell but two things are clear; strong public citizen opposition will be necessary if we are going to defeat this casino expansion; and that with that strong opposition, we can defeat this casino expansion.

ON NOTICE

Subject: Casino development
For Council Meeting of January 18, 2011
MOVER: Councillor Ellen Woodsworth
SECONDER: Councillor David Cadman

WHEREAS

1. The proposed expansion of Edgewater Casino on the North East Shore of False Creek in Downtown Vancouver would be the largest casino in British Columbia;

2. Recent news has revealed a concerning link between casinos and organized crime and money laundering;

Citizens across Vancouver are concerned about increasing organized crime activity and the accompanying increases in enforcement costs;
Recent reports also show record subsidies paid to casinos while non-profits, charities, and arts organizations are being funded at levels lower than during the 1990s;

The fact the Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation is being directed by the same ministry represents a serious potential conflict in gaming priorities and raises serious concerns about how gaming will be regulated and promoted in Vancouver;
Public confidence in the lottery public system needs to be restored prior to any decision on the expansion of gaming in the City of Vancouver

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
A. THAT the City of Vancouver support calls to have the Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation separated into different ministries.

B. THAT the City of Vancouver call for a review of public gaming in the province of British Columbia in order to restore public confidence in the integrity of the gaming system.

C. THAT Vancouver Council support the BC Association of Charitable Gaming’s call for the Auditor General to investigate, and review the BC government’s obligations to charities for gaming revenues.

D. THAT the City of Vancouver affirms both the inherent and contractual rights and interests of charities and non-profits to gaming proceeds.

E. (In essence) THAT the City of Vancouver request endorsement of this motion by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.

* * * * *

Below is a sample letter from our coalition in support of Councillor Woodsworth’s motion.

Dear Mayor and Councillors,

I write with respect to the Edgewater Casino relocation and development application, and Councillor Woodsworth’s motion for Council to support a review of and changes to BC provincial gaming policy prior to approving any gaming expansion in Vancouver.

Although gambling was legalized in Canada in 1969, expressly to benefit sports, arts, and community groups, the massive expansion of gambling since 2000 has been disastrous for charities and non-profits, who now find themselves funded at levels lower than when the first slot machine was introduced in 1997.

And as recent news reports indicate, things have spun out of control with the BC Lottery Corp and the Gaming Enforcement Branch. Given the proximity of casinos to organized crime, and the gang wars that are shaking our communities, this is a time for caution.

Once expansion of gambling is approved, there is no turning back. We will have it here in Vancouver for posterity.

This is a matter of public trust.

As a citizen of Vancouver I ask you, my elected representative, to support our community organizations, and to oppose any expansion of gambling in Vancouver at this time.

Please don’t let a Las Vegas-style mega-casino be the most visible permanent mark you leave as a public servant of our city.

Vote NO to the Edgewater expansion, and YES to Councillor Woodsworth’s motion.

Signed,