"Speaking to the Premier’s office, they’re saying it's not a done deal yet about this item. They’re going to review it."

Eli El-Chantiry, deputy mayor of the city of Ottawa, attended last Wednesday's rally outside the office of Premier Dalton McGuinty where 350 supporters and members of the National Capital Region Harness Horse Association (NCRHHA) gathered to air their concerns over the proposed cuts to Ontario's horse racing industry via the Slots at Racetracks revenue sharing program. In the latest edition of Trot Radio, El-Chantiry told host Norm Borg that he, along with fellow councillor Doug Thompson and the executive of the NCRHHA, managed to get their message through to the Premier’s executive assistant, John Fraser, who was at the rally. According to El-Chantiry, Fraser indicated there is still room for reason.

"If you look at it with a business pair of glasses you will see, okay the province is contributing to horse racing, but the spinoff to the province in sales tax and benefit is greater than what the province contributes so why would you want to stop that?"

El-Chantiry’s own council ward is largely agricultural with 26,000 residents and he is keenly aware of the impact proposed cuts to the Slots at Racetrack program will have on his constituents. Still, he insists the best strategy is to be conciliatory and not confrontational.

"We call it a rally in support of horse racing, we didn’t call it a demonstration against McGuinty," said Chantiry. "This is not a demonstration against the sit-in government, but I need to add my support to our residents because there's a huge impact on the city as well. You have to remember that the city of Ottawa receives about $5.4 million now a year from the Rideau Carleton Raceway so that's also a huge number.

"The Drummond report is just cut, slash, gut to the bone," he added. "Well you know something, you can't do this. Government is not like a business. Government, they have a social conscience, they have a responsibility and also government, they have to provide a level playing field among other people to continue this business."

Please contact your local MPP and tell him or her that you support the Ontario horse racing industry and the Slots-at-Racetracks Program.

Send your message here to your local MPP:
http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_current.do

Or here:
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/about/contactus/

Or email Premier Dalton McGuinty directly here:
[email protected]

Or Finance Minister Dwight Duncan here:
[email protected]

You may want to CC Tim Hudak, leader of the opposition, here:
[email protected]

Or Andrea Horwath, leader of Ontario's NDP party, here:
[email protected]

Episode 255 – Eli El-Chantiry, deputy mayor of the city of Ottawa

Audio Format: MP3 audio

Host: Norm Borg

Please note that the opinions expressed in the featured interview are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect Rideau Carleton Raceway and/or Standardbred Canada.