MacMillan Calls For Choice

John MacMillan has worn many hats in harness racing: announcer, trainer, driver and horsemen's representative. MacMillan can now add activist to his resume.

Unhappy with the state of affairs on the gaming front in the nation's capital, MacMillan created a facebook page - Casino Choice Ottawa.

"The Mayor and Councillors in Ottawa haven't taken the time to consult enough with the residents of Ottawa in determining a location for a future casino site," MacMillan told Trot Insider. " In my opinion, of course, I think Rideau Carleton is the optimal casino site. I would like to see the city of Ottawa go through the due diligence process, with more consultation."

In hopes that the page would gain exposure through his friends and friends of friends, MacMillan is pleased to report that people he doesn't even know have joined and started in on the discussion.

"What we're hoping - the horsepeople of Ottawa - is that Rideau Carleton gets a permanent casino site because that, in my opinion, is the only way for us to have a viable long-term harness racing industry."

MacMillan thinks that public sentiment in the region is swaying towards the racetrack location as the best place for gaming expansion in the area.

"The purpose of me starting this page was to give the people of Ottawa a chance to have their say, and if the Mayor and the Councillors listen to the people of Ottawa - and that's their job to do so - and if it's determined that it's the best place to be downtown then I'm fine with that. As long as they go through that process. The consultation has not been in depth enough in Ottawa."

While MacMillan wasn't sure if more public consultations were planned, he's hopeful that more would be scheduled. In his opinion, Ottawa council is still split on the best location for a casino in Ottawa and MacMillan feels they need more information - especially given the track record of the slots-at-racetracks program in Ontario versus that of the stand-alone casinos.

"I'm getting more media exposure through this page, I'm going to be speaking at the racetrack and I'm going to be getting the word out as much as I can."