The Council of Canadians Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter opposes the construction of a casino to be located near Harper Park in the City of Peterborough.
Chapter activist Roy Brady tells us, “Casino issue is not over! Our chapter is behind the opposition to the casino and the process leading up to it, as well as a serious environmental challenge.”
The chapter has been opposing a casino in Peterborough since March 2013.
A campaign blog from that time noted: The ‘No Casino in the City’ website states, “There are many good reasons for keeping the casino at Kawartha Downs in neighbouring Cavan, Monaghan Township, near the Peterborough Airport, where it’s been since 1998. With very strong public sentiment against a casino being built anywhere into the City of Peterborough, the public should not be ignored!”
The Peterborough Examiner now reports, “Seventy six per cent of city residents don’t want a casino, according to a new poll [while] 74 per cent believed a full environmental assessment should be part of the casino planning process. Meanwhile, 54 per cent were in support of the Ontario Municipal Board appeal against the casino development.”
Chapter activist Sheila Nabigon-Howlett says, “I think these figures back up our original contention.”
The article highlights, “The results of the poll were no surprise to Roy Brady, member of No Casino Peterborough. He said citizens have been in an ‘uproar’ over the casino since city councillors introduced the idea about three years ago. Yet, they approached [the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation] anyway. ‘We’re still bitter about that one’, he said. Brady also agreed with the need for a full environmental assessment in the casino’s planning. ‘That’s one the city has ignored all the way’, Brady said. Fellow No Casino Peterborough member Sheila Nabigon-Howlett thought the poll’s results were a reflection of how the majority of the community feels about the new casino – that it’s not wanted.”
No Casino Peterborough is a citizen-led effort to protect families, jobs, and green space from the casino city council would like to build.
There will be an Ontario Municipal Board hearing on this issue in May 2017.
The article notes, “The poll was commissioned by Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN) and conducted by Abacus Data, an Ottawa-based polling firm, from Oct. 24 to 30. It asked 800 residents in Pickering, Ajax and Peterborough about new and expanded gaming facilities in Ontario. All three cities are in various stages of developing or expanding casinos. …Having dealt with the OLG for years, MSIFN Chief Kelly LaRocca said they’re well versed in its mandate to only implement new or expanded casinos in willing communities. The poll was a way to assess if the OLG staying true to its word.”
For more information, please see www.NoCasinoPeterborough.org
