Ontario's horse racing industry was the root cause of a heated discussion at Queen's Park on Thursday (October 25) prompting the ejection of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Jeff Leal.
Leal was warned and subsequently removed from legislature on Thursday for his outbursts during question period. A set of questions from Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott pertained to the recent decision by Ontario Racing to deny Kawartha Downs' request for additional race dates in 2018. Scott's questions were posed to Charles Souza, Minister of Finance, but Leal could be heard stating "That's absolutely wrong!" during Scott's question.
Leal was warned once during Scott's questions. He then continued to retort during Minister Souza's reply before Speaker of the House Dave Levac named Leal, requiring him to leave legislature.
Upon departure, Leal left by saying, "Let me tell you, facts still matter in Ontario," a parting shot met with applause from his colleagues.
When the slots were rejected
When the slots were rejected by most of Ontario residents and the government came to the racetracks for help, the horsemen and tracks struck a financial arrangement to help the province implement their plan for slots. Revenue would be shared 10% for horsepeople, 10% for tracks, 5% for the municipality, and 75% for government. Horseracing was never subsidized by government, their position is "spin", plain and simple.
Its been more than 5 years
Its been more than 5 years since my lively hood was taken away from me by the Liberals. Watching this still hurts. Same answers all the time. "We've invested millions into the horse racing industry. The business is now transparent." What a bunch of...