Federal Senator Bob Runciman has gone out of his way to be a vocal and loyal supporter of Ontario horse racing in light of the provincial Liberals' unmitigated attack on the economically positive industry. Now, Sen. Runciman wants to speak with you.
PC Candidate Donna Skelly has informed Trot Insider that she wants any participant in Ontario's horse-racing industry to attend a Town Hall meeting with herself, Sen. Runciman and PC MPP Garfield Dunlop for a frank and open discussion on issues concerning the slots-at-racetrack program and the horse-racing industry.
Skelly, of CHCH TV fame, wants to remind all prospective attendees that you do not need to live in any certain riding to attend the meeting.
Organizers have stated that they would love to see a very large group of horsepeople attend the meeting, and stressed that members of the media will be in attendance.
The complete details on the meeting appear below.
TOWN HALL WITH DONNA SKELLY: THE HORSE INDUSTRY
Host: Donna Skelly
When: Friday, October 26 at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Dutch Mill, 533 Millgrove Sd Rd Waterdown, ON
I hope the horse racing
I hope the horse racing industry turns out in big numbers to hear Senator Runciman who has been a big supporter of us taking serious action against this government rather than waiting for them to kill it.
It would be convenient to
It would be convenient to know what the OMAFRA panel recommends but time is not a luxury the Horse Industry has. It doesn't hurt to voice your concerns and have a discussion with people who are willing to listen. Perhaps the Liberals won't entertain any of the recommendations of the panel and where will that leave us then? Bottom line is the way the whole sordid mess went down. By taking in the slots at racetracks and making such an enormous contribution to the government, the Ontario Liberals should have treated the Horse Industry with more respect and there should have been some kind of dialogue before the agreement was cancelled. We also need the support of the opposition parties because the Liberals will NOT be elected this Spring (we know there is an election in the air). Maybe we will hear something before Oct 26. It is important to keep the momentum going.
Agreed - they will never go
Agreed - they will never go back, so we need to look forward.
We need some "legal minds" there that can come at this from that angle -- there are so many aspects of this that legally seem wrong and we need the individuals with that type of training to speak up.
The OLG could care less about the "sob stories" - so let's go at them with intelligence and legal ramifications!
I appreciate that there will
I appreciate that there will be media coverage but wouldnt it be prudent to see what is in the OMAFRA report before we do this? We may be shooting ourselves in the foot make public suggestions if the OMAFRA report actually has some merit.
My concern is that like all Town Hall Meetings, they are staged and we get speeches from the candidates and in this case perhaps Mr. Runciman and then a few high profile individuals will ask prepared questions and then thank you and good night.
Status Quo won't fly with the Liberals but will Donna Skelly read a prepared statement from Tim Hudak (won't be there, he distances himself from this sort of thing) that indicates what the Conservatives will do if they win the next election? That would really help our suggestions. I have yet to hear the Conservatives say publicly they oppose Casinos. They want referendums but they havent said they would overturn the OLG decisions.
If the Conservatives are going to make those statements then we need to know if they are willing to go to court and stop the OLG now before it goes to far.
Will there be any lawyers there to give legal options?
I am planning on attending but over and above any suggestions I have I really want those questions asked.
Georg Leber-ICR Racing
How about going back to the
How about going back to the original profit sharing agreement(dont fix what aint broke) reintroducing the jobs lost and make a profit like well like it was doing before then set a timetable for ingenuity.
Everybody in horse racing and
Everybody in horse racing and breeding had better get to this meeting because we are finally going to get some big time media coverage thanks to Ms. Skelly. But here's some advice..... come with an open mind and with some solutions, not just to cry and bitch. We need some alternative solutions with some ingenuity as the status quo is not an option according to the OLG. SEE YOU ALL THERE.