After outlining my opposition to the casino proposal that received conditional approval from Delta council in May, I reported that I had written the attorney general of B.C. requesting his involvement to have a casino question put on the fall ballot so everyone in South Delta could express their opinion democratically.
Well, this week I received an e-mail response from the attorney general and rather than offering any assistance, it said the following: “A host local government must not approve a facility location unless it satisfies BCLC that adequate community input has been sought and considered. B.C.’s gaming control regulations define adequate community input to include comments, information and representation received from persons who reside in the community. The host local government must also give public notice within the community about the proposal, including details of the proposal, and provide opportunity for residents’ feedback at one or more public hearings or a referendum of residents.”
Several people have spoken to me about the fact the mayor and three councillors, along with a small number of people at the public hearing, have moved the casino along, and many of those speaking in support were not South Delta residents or they had a monetary interest in the casino being built.
I don’t believe that “adequate community input has been sought and considered,” but if the attorney general won’t assist us to have the question put on the fall ballot, then what can we do?
I should mention that other people contacted the attorney general regarding the casino and we all got the exact same e-mail response. Here I thought I was special.
Since I last wrote Peter German has submitted an extensive report to the attorney general that sheds even more light on the underside of casinos, including:
1. “The RCMP found there was a collective system failure that grew over time and outstripped the ability of existing legislation, processes and structures to manage it.”
2. “Money laundering in casinos was linked to the opioid crisis.”
3. The report indicates money laundering has been going on since 2002 at least.
4. Besides money laundering, there have been all sorts of issues related to organized crime.
In all I’ve read, I can’t see one good reason for this casino to be built, except for some people to make money. I believe the social costs to South Delta far outweigh any revenue Delta will collect.
If the casino is going to hire 700 people, every restaurant in South Delta will find it even more difficult to hire staff. Tsawwassen Mills already has to bus in workers from other districts.
Some folks have asked about a petition to see how many South Delta residents are against this project, so to see if that would be a worthwhile exercise we need some feedback from you and your neighbours.
If you would like to see a petition collected opposing the casino, please send me an e-mail with the subject line: “Yes to a petition opposing the casino.”
• No attachments please.
• I do not want to debate the issue.
• Depending on the response, there is a group that will organize it.
Let me know at [email protected].
Greg Hoover is a project manager in industrial and commercial construction who has lived with Christina in Tsawwassen for 25 years.
