More time needed to hear all opinions

The Province April 10, 2011

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Council+still+considering+casino+complex+question/4590702/story.html

Vancouver city councillors were to continue public hearings for another day today, to hear the dozens of people still wanting to speak on the proposal for an expanded casino near B.C. Place.

Mayor Gregor Robertson and councillors began hearing the 120 scheduled speakers at 10 a.m. yesterday, a majority of which were opposed to the $450- million casino complex proposed by Paragon Gaming of Nevada.

But the day began with two submissions from the union representing casino workers at Vancouver's Edgewater Casino, urging council to green light the project or risk losing 1,900 jobs for the city.

Susan Spratt of the CAW union said emotions are running high on the subject because people fear the corrupt, crimeridden Las Vegas of the 1950s portrayed in movies will descend on the city.

"City council should gauge the proposal on merits and not on emotions," she said.

She questioned earlier submissions that suggested a larger casino would increase the gambling problem, noting that no one would suggest building more bars would create more alcoholics.

Alan Foster, who works for a cashcounting company, played down fears of increased crime, noting that the mayors of Burnaby and Coquitlam have said that hasn't happened in their cities after casinos opened there.

He said 95 per cent of gamblers enter casinos willingly and gamble responsibly.

He also dismissed concerns about money-laundering and said casinos are even more diligent after a report last year that found money-laundering was a problem in B.C. casinos.

But that view was disputed by 18 retired police officers, who signed a letter to council warning that a bigger, flashier casino "will open the floodgates" to money laundering and organized crime and drive up the number of gambling addicts.

"When we worked as police officers, we were muzzled, but now that we're retired we can say what we mean," said Ivan Chu, a former sergeant of the New Westminster police department.

Chu said organized criminals can launder money with impunity in casinos because police departments don't have the resources to treat that crime as a priority, and that casinos typically manage to stay under police radar because there are few calls for crimes such as drunkenness or fights because of tight in-house security.

Pastor David Bornman, who works with gambling addicts, told the councillors that 30 to 50 per cent of revenues in casinos come from the five per cent who are addicted.

And Dr. John Blatherwick, Vancouver's former chief medical health officer, sent a letter to council in which he stated that expanding the casino and building it next to a sports stadium "ensures a fresh supply of new addicts."

Added Blatherwick: "All addictions show that the more available a product is, the more of a problem the addiction becomes."

Council also heard from a number of employees of Edgewater Casino who spoke of their fulfilling jobs and careers at casinos and urged councillors to approve the casino proposal.