National Post Questions Liberal Strategy

"So how is this (the slots-at-racetracks program) a carbuncle draining revenue from the government? It sounds, in fact, a lot like the deal Ontario has with the liquor business, which sends it a 'dividend'

— which last year totalled $1.55-billion — in return for which it gets to keep a monopoly on booze sales. Is the LCBO’s share of the take a 'subsidy?' Do you hear Dwight Duncan threatening to remove it?"

The above quote is an excerpt from a column by Kelly McParland in today's edition of the National Post.

McParland's piece is just the latest in a score of editorials and MPP comments against the Drummond Report's recommendation to alter the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.'s highly successful Slots-at-Racetracks Program.

In his piece, McParland also highlights the fact that the alteration to the program came merely as a recommendation by Drummond, yet the McGuinty Government has opted to take the recommendation and run, so to speak. The Ontario Liberals are now saying that they want to renege on the slots-at-racetracks contracts and scrap the agreement all together. The provincial Liberals are trying to pit the Ontario horse-racing industry against home health care, and have even invested in a radio campaign to pursue their angle

The Ontario Government rakes in over $1-billion per year in revenue via the slots-at-racetracks agreement. The Ontario horse-racing industry, an overly-positive economic stimulator for the province, has structured itself around the agreement and would be decimated if unwarranted, hasty changes were made to it. Besides the capital that slot machines directly funnel to the provincial government, Ontario's horse-racing industry sends $261-million in direct taxes to the provincial government each year; is responsible for roughly 60,000 full and part-time jobs in the province; has a total expenditure of $2-billion, and pays $1.5-billion in wages and salaries each year in Ontario.

The Liberals' radio spots have even tried to paint Ontario Racetrack owners as receiving a 'secret subsidy.'

"A secret subsidy for a few wealthy racetrack owners?" McParland wrote. "So secret it was included in detail in Mr. Duncan’s budget last year, with the benefits to communities, hospitals and sports facilities spelled out in detail. No mention of any fatcat track owners, though."

McParland concluded his piece by stating, "If there’s a hidden evil to this program I can’t find it. Out of 362 Drummond proposals, the only one the McGuinty government can bring itself to accept is the one that endangers thousands of jobs in rural Ontario, and threatens one of the province’s biggest rural industries. Is there a reason, other than the fact rural Ontario doesn’t generally vote Liberal?"

To read McParland's piece in its entirety, click here.

(With files from the National Post; photo courtesy the National Post)