On Tuesday, March 11, the Ontario New Democratic Party’s horse racing critic, Taras Natyshak, issued a statement in regard to the lawsuit which Standardbred breeders in the province have filed against the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.

For complete information on the lawsuit, click here.

Natyshak’s statement appears below.

"The Liberal government put the livelihoods of thousands of hard-working Ontarians in jeopardy when it cancelled the slots-at-racetrack partnership. Today's action by The Standardbred Breeders of Ontario seeking 65 million dollars in compensation from the Ontario government and OLG for damages inflicted on the horse racing industry is a sadly predictable outcome. Instead of working with the horse racing industry to make the SARP program more transparent and accountable the Liberal government chose a callous and short-sighted approach that negatively impacted the economy in rural Ontario and hurt horse people around the province."