By Doug Draper
“It’s not a good day for us,” were Fort Erie, Ontario regional councillor John Teal’s first words to Niagara At Large after he and other local representatives were told this March 14 that the Slots facility in his border town will be closed at the end of April, putting more than 200 people out of work.
The stinging news came from the province’s Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and was hardly unexpected following the OLG’s unveiling earlier in the week of a plan for “modernizing” the gaming industry in the province by closing down some older gambling facilities and locating a new casino somewhere in the Greater Toronto Area.
Still the confirmation that the 13-year-old Slots facility will be among the casualties hit Teal and others in the Niagara area hard and left them with some sharp words for Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal government, along with worries that the century-and-a-half old Fort Erie Race Track, which receives some of its support money from the Slots, may be the next to fall.
“My heart goes out to the employees who will lose their jobs first,” said Teal, “and looking at the Ontario government, I have to wonder what they are thinking.. … (With the loss of closing of the Fort Erie Slots and to other slot machine facilities that supported tracks in the Windsor and Sarnia areas), it will be very hard for the smaller tracks to survive” where some 6,000 people collectively are employed.
Teal said it angers him that the McGuinty government did not even wait to do an analysis (something the Fort Erie and Niagara regional councils asked for ) of the economic impact on the communities affected before they pulled the plug on the Slots and put the future of the horse racing tracks in jeopardy.
“Dalton McGuinty has no political base in rural Ontario,” said Teal, who also once served as Fort Erie’s mayor. “He might as well be the premier of the GTA because he governs for the GTA.”
In a prepared statement this March 14, Walter Sendzik, CEO of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, called the province’s decision to close the Fort Erie Slots a “huge hit” for Niagara, Ontario’s entire gaming industry.
“The repercussions,” added Sendzik, “will have a negative ripple effect for a long time. We have a fragile economy in Niagara, it just took another hit. A pillar of Fort Erie’s economy has been destroyed today – and we are left to pick up the pieces while the government starts to build a brand new casino in Toronto. It defies logic – putting short term economic gain ahead of people’s livelihood.”
Stephen Passero, President of the Greater Fort Erie Chamber of Commerce and a town councillor, added in a statement that the decision to close the Slots “takes money out of the pockets of every Fort Erie resident, and dollars out of every cash register and business. The ramifications of this are devastating and immeasurable,” he said.
“This is a Niagara issue,” added Kithio Mwanzia, Director of Policy and Government Relations for the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce. “As a regional chamber, we are committed to working with the Greater Fort Erie Chamber of Commerce to ensure today’s unfortunate announcement isn’t simply swept away. A strong Niagara includes a robust economy in Fort Erie.”
Taras Natyshak, the Ontario NDP MPP for Essex, Ontario, expressed disappointment that the government had moved ahead with the decision without any consultation with the communities involved.
“The government says that shuttering slots in border communities will save money but they’re not talking about the devastating economic fallout this will bring to Windsor, Sarnia and Fort Erie” said Natyshak. “They’re ignoring the basic cost to people whose jobs depend on supporting these facilities.
Kim Craitor, the Liberal MPP for the Niagara Falls riding which includes Fort Erie, told Niagara At Large two days before the decision was announced that he has done all he can do as an individual representative to get provincial support for the Slots and race track.
The McGuinty government has provided millions of dollars in subsidies to the race track in recent years, said Craitor, but he doesn’t know if that support will continue in the face of a $16-billion debt crisis the province now faces.
In a report prepared for the government and released this February, Donald Drummond, a former chief economist with the TD Bank, recommended the province getting out of any financial arrangements it has with horse racing tracks as one of numerous measures he listed for reducing government costs.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post in the comment boxes below. Please remember that NAL does not post anonymous comments or comments by people using pseudonyms. Only comments attached to real names are posted on this site.)
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I feel bad for the people who are going to lose their jobs but I can’t say I’ll be sad to see the gambling houses close down. It’s unfortunate that so many people’s lives depend on such an addictive and destructive pastime. And I certainly won’t shed any tears once the racetrack is gone. Horse racing is rife with animal cruelty, drug abuse, injuries, and many horses end up at the slaughterhouse when they’re no longer profitable. Good riddance, I say.
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Mr. Wilson, I agree that horse racing, greyhound racing, etc. can be very cruel to animals. As for the slots however, while I do not use the facility personally, many people will go occassionally, spend a few bucks and have dinner. The facility does bring in tourists who also spend elsewhere. As for the gambling addicts, that is tragic. There are also many other addictions such as smoking and drinking that seem perfectly acceptable to many people and do as much or more damage. Society will never be rid of such addictions or the people who suffer from them but I think the “addicts” will feed addictions with one habit or another. Meanwhile, Fort Erie will suffer until such time as a viable substitute to the casino is found and, callous as it may sound, if we don’t benefit from the income produced, Toronto or some other city will. They have no concern, I’m sure. about the effect on people, only the money it brings.
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While I’m not into throwing my money into slot machines, think it’s a waste and can be very dangerous to “addicts”, it did bring money into local coffers, a rare commodity these days. Just about everything has been taken from Fort Erie, the hospital, the Casino and many industries. All of these hired people and had spin-off benefits to restaurants and other service industries. May as well fold up the sidewalks and close the town entirely. I don’t know where the town will recoup the money lost. I suppose the taxes of the few who remain will go up to make up the difference or services will be reduced to non-existent. Fort Erie was barely hanging on by the teeth as it was. With all this in mind, who is going to buy all the houses and the wonderful condos being built in the area when there is no incentive for anyone to live in a dying community?
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I echo that impression, Linda. Fort Erie is going to lose its financial base. The Chamber of Commerce, as well as other business organizations feel this is not a good idea either. While I don’t gamble or even buy lottery tickets, there are people that do enjoy this pastime and do bring money through their other pursuits in the community. They go to dinner after, shop in local businesses and so forth.
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Only in McGuinty’s Ontario could a revenue sharing partnership between OLG and horse racing tracks be contorted, distorted and twisted into a subsidy. OLG’s makes over $1.1 billion and the tracks $350 million per year for the use of their facilities and staff to operate the gambling operations.
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Kim boy – you did not do all you could – Why would you continue to work for the bunch of lackies that run your party – no real guts I say — and here I go AGAIN – we keep electing these idiots who must follow the party line – Dump the party system – institute recall and make them represent the people and not the party – wake up people it’s time for a real change !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I agree with D. Wilson; horse racing is a vile industry and the sooner it is gone; the better. If people have money to throw away on gambling, fair enough – let them spend it in a casino. Sadly, gambling probably ruins many more lives than it “entertains”.
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Question: what is the full rational for closing the slots?
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The slots have “lost money for the past 3 years” … which co-incides with the economic Crash of 2008-October.
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I think it’s kind of sad that any city/town has to rely on slot machines to keep the town going. Seems like a failure on the local (whether municipal, provincial or federal) politicians that allowed slot machines to run the city.
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Right on, Ryan!
Niagara has lost:
– heavy industry (when power rates were equalised to help Toronto)
– tourism from the USA (after 9-11 tightened the border)
– hospitals (as governments have centralised health care)
– government jobs from Niagara South to Niagara North (as our courts have been centralised)
– agriculture (as we buy the cheapest goods without reading labels, or buy ‘cheaper’ antibiotic and bovine-growth-hormone laden milk in Buffalo)
– various industries who move to the USA for cheaper labour (eg. $7.30/hr minimum wage in New York vs $10.50/hr in Ontario) and cheaper hydro rates (because they burn cheap Coal, and we’re still paying Stranded Debt for expensive and soon-to-retire Nuclear plants).
– agriculture again as the racetrack is killed by McGuinty
However, there should be some benefits for McGuinty:
– GO Transit will need fewer busses & trains to Niagara if Torontonians flock to their new casino.
– land costs should drop in Niagara, making it a cheap place to locate Nursing Homes.
– there should be emigration from Ontario to Alberta & Saskatchewan, which will place less pressure for provincial services like schools, colleges, hospitals, nursing homes, roads, water/sewers, etc.
BTW, there’s a lot more skill involved in operating and playing the Sport of Kings (horse racing) than in operating and playing slots. Think of the economic chain across Niagara & Ontario, starting with the farmers who grow hay & straw, board & train horses, operate machinery, etc. All those businesses & employees will now pay much lower taxes of all types, thereby raising costs for everyone else.
Remember, in Niagara the 2nd largest industry is Agriculture.
Will Government soon be the only employer?
-w-
Now, what are you and I going to do to Create Businesses to employ us in Niagara who can compete on the world stage? We sure can’t rely on governments to do it for us.
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If the Town is getting money and the track is getting money and they get a percentage of the profit how can the slots be awash in red ink?
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i worked at the track in the 60’s and there was a lot of good people employed there, And i must say hard workers, When you speak of drugs and booze,hey how many hotels are there in town, and drugs are every where not just at the track”.so i would feel safe to say that Fort Erie will survive and the hardships of life and politics will always be there”.
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