Toronto's executive committee to look into proposed casino

(Canada).- The Toronto City Council asked last week the city's executive committee to look into the matter of a proposed casino. The executive committee will study the issue, then report back to the council.

2012-04-17

United States

Reading time 1:36 min

(Canada).- The Toronto City Council asked last week the city's executive committee to look into the matter of a proposed casino. The executive committee will study the issue, then report back to the council.

The Ontario government has estimated that a downtown Toronto casino would bring in us$ 4 billion a year and create 4,000 jobs.

Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti said the move will allow the committee to look at issues including infrastructure requirements and the number of jobs the casino would create. Debate on whether to add a downtown casino in Toronto, a project which the provincial government supports as it looks for additional revenue sources, has already divided council.

The provincial government has said a downtown Toronto casino could bring in us$ 4 billion annually and create 4,000 new jobs. Mammoliti, who supports the casino, said the city needs the money it will bring in. "Some of us really maintain that we need the revenue," he said.

Councillor Mike Layton, however, said studies show that casinos are generally not beneficial to the surrounding area. "The numbers don't support the claims that casinos bring great things for a city," Layton told CTV Toronto Tuesday. "It's actually a gamble for the city that could have a greater impact on us down the road."

A potential location for the new casino is Ontario Place, which the Ontario government closed down earlier this year because it was losing money. Ontario Place is inside Layton's riding. He presented a motion to council Wednesday not to use Ontario Place as a casino location. That motion was defeated.

Councillor Adam Vaughan, who has said the majority of Torontonians do not want a casino, presented a motion to hold a referendum on the issue. That motion also did not pass. The referendum issue is not off the table, however.

Councillors in favour of the casino, including Couns. Doug Ford and Michael Thompson, have said that they support the referendum idea. The executive committee could also recommend a referendum on the matter. If it chooses to do so, it wouldn't be the first referendum on casinos in Toronto.

In 1997, 72 per cent of Torontonians voted "no" to putting a permanent gaming facility in city limits. Mayor Rob Ford has already said he is in favour of both the casino and of a referendum to allow citizens to vote on whether they want one.