At a press engagement on Wednesday, March 6, representatives from MGM and Cadillac Fairview unveiled their proposed plans for an integrated casino resort at the site of the Canadian National Exhibition.
According to a report by The Globe and Mail, the multi-million-dollar proposed undertaking would take place on a total of three-million square feet; see the traditional buildings on site retained; see 400,000 square feet in new convention space added; and see a casino added, along with restaurants, retail and a permanent home for Cirque Du Soleil.
Reports also indicate that the plans, which are not set in stone, call for both GO Transit and TTC Subway service to be amalgamated into the area. Under the plan, the Midway, which The EX is famous for, would be relocated across the street, on the other side of the Gardiner Expressway, where the current parking lot for Ontario Place is.
On Wednesday, a separate article by The Globe also explained that it has been found that Metrolinx Chairman Robert Prichard, the head of Ontario’s regional transit agency, has found himself in a bit of a conflict-of-interest position, as he is also a registered pro-casino lobbyist for MGM Resorts.
MPPs from Ontario's New Democratic Party have latched onto Prichard's obvious conflict of interest in the Legislature.
“One of the pressing issues with the proposed casino at Exhibition Place will be gridlock,” NDP MPP Peter Tabuns told Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne during Question Period. “Yet the Chair of the very organization that is in charge of coming up with transit solutions — the Chair that the Liberal government appointed — is a lobbyist for a casino in Toronto.”
On the broader topic of the Ontario Liberals not listening to the people of Ontario regarding casino expansion, Tabuns added, “This government is ignoring the voice of people whose communities will be affected. Torontonians can see the government’s utter disregard for their concerns, but Ontarians are also seeing it across the province: in Hamilton and Kingston.”
(With files from The Globe and Mail)
It is impossible for a
It is impossible for a politician to have a "conflict of interest"!! Their only interest is to fill their pockets by hook or by crook!!