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Council rolls the dice on two gambling sites Laura Mueller
laura.mueller@metroland.com
News - City council is doubling down by asking the province if Ottawa can have two gambling sites. While council had already indicated a preference to see gambling options expanded where they already exist in Ottawa – at the Rideau Carleton Raceway – the vote on July 17 means councillors would like to see another casino site in addition to keeping at least 21 gaming tables at the raceway. The move was in response to what Mayor Jim Watson and councillors have been hearing from residents, said Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, who proposed the motion. Osgoode Coun. Doug Thompson represents the raceway in his ward. He said he brought the largest petition he can recall a politician presenting: a 70,000-signature petition supporting saving jobs at the raceway by keeping gambling there. “There must be a fair and open process for casino bidding,” Watson said, adding that he feels there has been plenty of consultation on the issue already. All members of council supported Tierney’s move to refer the discussion to a special meeting of the
finance and economic development committee on Aug. 26 so public delegates could come speak to the concept of creating two gambling zones in Ottawa. But that doesn’t mean the idea of having two casinos has unanimous support around the council horseshoe. One of the most vocal casino opponents, Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans, dissented on the parts of the motion asking for two gambling zones for Ottawa. “This is confirmation of a predetermined outcome that we want more gaming in Ottawa,” Deans said, noting that perhaps the city might want to do more consultation on the matter before coming to that conclusion. That’s why she voted in favour of sending the matter to the committee on Aug. 26. The move made other councillors happy, though, because it removed the perception that city council is favouring one community institution – the raceway – over another, like the Ottawa Senators and Canadian Tire Centre. Sens owner Eugene Melnyk’s pleas to let him bid for a casino at the arena were shot down at a recent committee meeting when councillors voted to limit gambling to the
raceway. Tierney’s motion at the July 17 council meeting could reopen the door for a casino in Kanata or elsewhere in the city. “This somehow devolved (into something) about saving jobs,” said Bay Coun. Mark Taylor, who was the seconder on Tierney’s motion. “ The debate about gambling resulted in pitting two community resources against each other … This motion restores fairness.” “It gives everyone a chance to be at the table,” said Orléans Coun. Bob Monette, who was among the councillors who wanted to protect the raceway but be fair to other casino bidders at the same time. But it won’t be the first time the mayor has asked for two gambling sites in Ottawa. Watson has previously written to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and provincial officials to ask for a “satellite facility” to complement gaming operations at the raceway. He received no response. That’s different than asking for two gambling sites in the form of two gaming zones for Ottawa, Watson said, so he’s hoping for more success this time around – especially since he now has the support of council. West Carleton-March Coun. Eli El-Chantiry was among those who
pointed out that the city has misstepped as it tries to react to a process dictated by the OLG. “This is a lesson in what not to do,” he said. “It’s really hard to turn a big ship after it’s been sailing for a while.” Other councillors wanted city staff to prepare a report on the socio-economic impacts of expanding gambling in Ottawa. Council has already ordered such a report, but it wouldn’t be undertaken until after a casino location had been proposed. If Tierney’s motion was accepted by the committee in August, it would kick off such a study, but only for the raceway location. KnoxdaleMerivale Coun. Keith Agli said he planned to ask for an amendment to ensure the study looks at the possibility of more than one gambling site. Didn’t get your
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“We should understand what kind of problem we could be creating,” said Capital Coun. David Chernushenko, who is not in favour of a new casino. “In a way, the point is moot to me today about how many casinos we have and where they are located.” Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes, who leads the board of health, said there are currently about 13,000 people addicted to gambling in Ottawa. The city has around $740,000 in funding for treatment and prevention programs, but public health officials say Ottawa needs more like $4 million to address the needs of the gambling-addicted population here. “Part of the problem with the expansion of gambling is we’re not taking the addiction issue seriously,” Holmes said.
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Public invited to two-part meeting to discuss 1040 Somerset proposal Ottawa West News staff
Community - Residents are invited to attend a public meeting on the rezoning application for 1040 Somerset St. on Monday, July 29. In June, Claridge Homes submitted the necessary applications for the future development of the southwest corner of Somerset and Breezehill Avenue into a 39-storey condo tower with ground-floor retail space. The lot is adjacent to the Somerset Street bridge and O-Train tracks.
Concerns expressed over the 338unit proposal were related to the building’s height and the possible traffic issues raised by the 162 parking spaces that would be located on site. The site is close to Devonshire Public School, and motorists turning onto or off Somerset would face visual barriers caused by blind corners and poor sightlines at the crest of the bridge. The two-part, twin-location meeting is being organized by the office of
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Kitchissippi Coun. Katherine Hobbs, in collaboration with the applicant and their consultants, city staff, and her office. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the actual site of the proposal (currently occupied by CompuCorps), where residents can take in the various elements of the site and ask questions to developers and planners based on their observations. This outdoor, open-house forum ends at 6:30 p.m., followed by a second, formal presentation that will take place upstairs at Tom Brown Arena at 7 p.m. There, the same group of consultants and planners will be available for a question and answer session following the presentation.
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Ottawa West News EMC - Thursday, July 25, 2013
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