Media Release:
Candidates in the forthcoming Sudbury municipal election are being asked their position on support for the establishment of a Casino for Sudbury, currently endorsed by the present City Council and Mayor and conditionally by the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.
An e-mail with this question has been sent to all candidates by the NoCasinoSudbury committee supported by over 5000 petition signatures (on line and on paper) from concerned Sudbury citizens including:
Medical, Health & Addictions Professionals
Faith community leaders
Resident & community Associations leaders
Civic leaders
Economists and Business Leaders
Legal and Accounting profession
Academics and policy representatives
Students and youth leaders
Community leaders, social action & Labour representatives
Architects and planners
Arts, culture and food representatives
All maintain that an expanded gaming facility in our community would have serious detrimental economic and social effects.
Economically, revenues from a Sudbury Casinos would come mostly from the local population with tens of millions of dollars vacuumed out of the local economy and handed to the provincial government, the Ontario Lottery Corporation (OLG) and the casino operator. Sales at restaurants and shops would decline (there is only so much disposal income) leading to job loses that would outnumber jobs created.
Socially, the effects of gambling addiction have been well documented with certain populations according to the Sudbury and District Board of Health being youth, older adults, aboriginal people and those with low incomes.
Will Sudbury join the many other communities in Ontario, including Toronto and Ottawa, in rejecting a New Casino for Sudbury? The response to the survey of candidates on this issue may provide an answer to this question.
Currently over 5,000 citizens have signed a petition opposing expanded gaming in our area. The OLG has indicated that if a newly elected council oppose the expansion they would not pursue it. We want to know clearly the position of all candidates on this important manner. Yes or No to expanding the existing OLG slots to a Casino. We will publicly release the results and also publish on our website.
More information at: www.nocasinosudbury.ca or https://www.facebook.com/NoCasinoSudbury and http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/no-casino-sudbury/
The site for the Sudbury working-group of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.
The Sudbury working-group of The Media Co-op was formed to create independent media in the North, to speak to our issues and outlooks on our communities as well as the world around us. Independent media provides an avenue for people who are wishing to gain critical perspective on the issues that matter most to us, and to give a voice to those people and stories that you won't find in the mainstream media.
The Sudbury working-group site is no longer being updated and has been archived.