Two weeks ago I watched the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, which chronicled the interactions of Michael Jackson with boys under the age of 10. When Jackson was at the peak of his career, his fame, fortune and apparent genuine love of children allowed the world, and the parents, to give him the benefit of the doubt as they watched this 30-year-old man interact with seven-year-olds.
The documentary is very detailed and graphic and has caused people and companies to re-think the career and influence of Jackson. The
Also over the last two weeks I have attended Delta council meetings in support of Delta residents who oppose the approved casino for South Delta.
These residents realize how the previous council was misinformed at length by the B.C. Lottery Corporation and Gateway when it amended the bylaw banning all forms of gaming to allow this casino. Since that time numerous reports have been done by the province, the federal government and the RCMP that conclusively prove the link between international crime and money laundering in B.C. casinos.
The criminal world refers to the way this works as the “Vancouver Model” and it has been operating for over 14 years without government or law enforcement being able to stop it.
Much of the money, into the billions of dollars, being laundered comes from the sale of drugs. When the money is cleaned, it is dumped into Vancouver real estate, expensive cars and many other aspects of our economy, causing all sorts of issues.
How many people in Delta do you know that will show up at this casino with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to play blackjack for the evening? For over a decade casinos overseen by BCLC have accepted hockey bags and boxes full of $20 bills to purchase chips. Is this proper and capable management?
So now it is suggested that cashless casinos will solve this issue. Doesn’t anyone understand what we are dealing with? Now the clients can just use credit card fraud instead of carrying those heavy bags of cash. They are already using bank drafts issued by illegal banking operations in the Lower Mainland.
When our kids can’t afford to live here, when you see homeless camps and you watch first responders rushing to another drug overdose or fentanyl death, remember all of this has some connection to casinos.
The residents of Delta have made council aware of every aspect of these reports and much more information, yet this new council continues to pursue the construction of this casino and one has to ask why?
I’m very sure that if the parents of the kids Michael Jackson took under his wing knew what he actually was, they would never have allowed their kids anywhere near him. Well, Delta council now knows the truth about the money in casinos and the pain, sorrow and chaos it causes, so why would it allow construction to proceed? It’s worth asking council members.
Greg Hoover is a project manager in industrial and commercial construction who has lived with Christina in Tsawwassen for over 25 years.
