During a Thursday morning town hall meeting in Guelph, horsemen Jody Jamieson and Anthony MacDonald took the opportunity to discuss the Ontario Liberal Party's recent actions toward the provincial horse-racing industry with Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim
Hudak.
According to a report by The Guelph Mercury, Hudak did not divulge information regarding any policy his party may have in relation to the current slots-at-racetrack agreement, although, he did point out that he was a member of the government that helped bring the lucrative and mutually beneficial agreement into existence.
The article quoted Hudak as saying that the program has been a “win-win-win” situation for the government, the industry and the host municipalities.
“It’s heartbreaking," he said. "It will devastate families. It’s a big tax grab that they (the Ontario Liberals) haven’t thought through.”
In other news, on the heels of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.'s RFI announcement regarding its controversial gaming modernization plan, Sudbury's Liberal MPP, Northern Development Minister Rick Bartolucci has said that downtown Sudbury needs a full-on gaming and entertainment complex.
"A casino in our community would promote tourism, create jobs and strengthen an already vibrant local construction industry," Bartolucci has been quoted as saying in an article by The Sudbury Star.
It has also been reported that the Ontario Liberal Government has very quietly amended the OLG Act to remove any need for a municipality to vote in favour of a casino before one can be built.
Just two months ago, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty stated publicly that municipalities would need to hold referendums on and vote in favour of local casino expansion.
I think they are afraid of a
I think they are afraid of a split vote which would likely give the liberals a majority because there are still enough people that don't know enough about horse racing and how devastating it would be to lose it.
Devestated by the sunday sun
Devestated by the sunday sun story Slaughter begins.Page 22 News.If you have spent 73 years looking after horses [racing or otherwise]then you must realize something must be done? Horses are not dogs and cats.there is no rescue for our animals lies by the olg and governments will not save them.I would hope that fellow members that hold a Standardbred Licence would read the article and then print a thousand copies to be handed out to every racetrack in ontario.The city mayors of Peterboro and Sudbury[LIBERAL RIDINGS]have caved in to accepting slots in their towns.What if the program ends at W.E.G.? Please Email all the horsemen that will take a weenling from Murray McConnell and the other breeders,we must save these horses.they were not bred for meat!!!!!tom kelly
Sue Hutton One step at a
Sue Hutton
One step at a time. It really won't matter what the NDP or Conservative party would plan to do in regards to the slots at racetracks if one of them doesn't win the Kitchener-Waterloo by-election and stop the Liberals from obtaining a majority.
With all due respect Mr
With all due respect Mr Hudak, this is heartbreaking, now what are you and your party gonna do to help correct this wrong.. This government is killing Ontario , not just this industry. You can be sure that helping and saving an industry of more than 60000 involved that you will be well remembered at the next election. Mr. Woolley has a excellent idea that would lead to better things for all .....The NDP had their chance to make things right, but they opted to do the cowardly thing by not voting on probably the most important budget for Ontario in years. I dont understand how NDP members, voted in by Ontario people, didnt represent the people who put them in those seats.. It all stinks, the provincial government, OLG, and the opposition partys. I never thought that Ontario would come to this.. Stuart Cochrane......
Bert McWade I agree that the
Bert McWade
I agree that the Ontario government and the OLGC have made a big change that will affect the funding of horse racing in Ontario. We must realise that gaming casinos will work anywhere and that the more lucracrative ones are in the downtown area in cities and towns.The government has the power to generate much needed dollars as they see fit.
The racing industry has enjoyed good revenues from the slots at race tracks program.
The time has come to move on and work with the reality of the new direction. Instead of attacking the government and the leaders publicly, I think they should try and negioate funding for this great industry. You will get more cooperation, funding and support if you start and work with the government and OLGC and not against them. These changes are here and going to stay, let's find a way to work within them.
I am truley perplexed as to
I am truley perplexed as to why the PC and NDP aren't all over this, they act as if they are afraid of the Liberals. I can only hope they have some grand plan to ambush the Liberals, hopefully they are just giving them enough rope to hang themselves. We are receiving NO SUPPORT FROM ANYONE outside the industry even with these outrageous developments, whats going one here?
The way to foil the plans of
The way to foil the plans of the OLG and the liberal government is for Tim Hudak to say that a Conservative government will reintroduce the slots at rascetracks if it is elected.This will make any would be casino investor think twice before spending millions to build a casino because the slots at racetrtacks program was a proven success,and if reintroduced would make all the other casinos marginal operations