Casino Decision Day

Today is March 5, 2013 and tonight the Council in Woolwich Township will vote on whether to continue discussion with OLG to build a casino in the township.  Todd Cowan believes that Woolwich has the independent right to approve this project and build it so close to Kitchener and Waterloo without consulting them.  On top of that he feels that the township is entitled to all the profits with no regard for the social implications it will have on neighbourhoods in Kitchener or Waterloo or anywhere else in the Region of Waterloo. The proposed locations for this are either at the St. Jacobs stockyards (border with Waterloo) or at a property at 2069 Shantz Station Road (border with Kitchener).  Both locations closer to KW then Elmira.  This is like saying hey liver your screwed because I am going to go out party all the time I will have fun but you won't in 10 years but really your not my concern right now and I am just going to ignore you until you become someone else problem.

It is shocking to me to understand that this significant decision could possibly be approved by 5 people.  The Region of Waterloo forever changed because 5 people didn't do what the people wanted.  To add to this complicated situation, this Council is not know for is fiscal restraint.  In a time of tighter budgets they can't keep their own house in order.  Why would I want to give them more money to waist.  Do not believe for a moment that once they start raking in 4 million dollars they will instantly become financially prudent!

According to this article Mayor Cowan does not feel that the survey results of 62% opposed to the casino are valid.  I understand that only 11% of eligible voters voted but you only mailed one card per household and you mailed it during the Christmas holidays. Had someone else not brought it to my attention I would not have looked in my recycling box to find it.  It is like you only wanted 11% to vote just so you could discount them.  Let's also consider that only 26% of eligible voters made it out to the last municipal election in Woolwich which is a highly publicized even that occurs across the entire province on the same day.  I will remind you Mayor Cowan only 2777 people voted for you in the last election.

Many experts and highly qualified people have spoken to Woolwich council. The allure of free money has led many people astray.  I hope that these Councillors can see that nothing is for free.  My big concern right now is who is pulling these Councillors strings to approve this project?  What is in it for them personally?  I don't know.  What I know is that they asked the people of Woolwich and the people of Woolwich have said "No" to gambling establishments in the past, and they are saying "No" again now.  If anyone could show me any evidence at all that the people in Woolwich and the Waterloo region wanted a casino, I would withdraw my criticism of this project and let the majority decide.  I believe very strongly that this is not the case.

Some people argue that opposing this project means we are restricting peoples freedom and why should we stop at a casino we should ban alcohol, tobacco, lotteries, etc.  This is not why I oppose this project.  I oppose this project because this Region doesn't want it.  I oppose this project because it is not sustainable.  The money that people will use for entertainment is not currently hiding under their mattresses.  Money isn't magically created by bringing in a casino.  It is reallocated from the bowling alley, from the corner store, from the grocery store.  If you think a casino is good for business you are very misguided.  A casino is only good for its own business and everything it contains under its roof.  Everyone else looses.  So if you own a business in Waterloo Region you don't want this either.  Casinos don't bring tourist dollars into the region they fly in they gamble at the casino and fly out.  What makes you think they will come here instead of Hamilton or the GTA (also undergoing casino debate) ?

If you want to make your voice heard I would encourage all of the Waterloo region to email these Councillors and tell them if you think this casino in Woolwhich Township bordering on either Kitchener or Waterloo is a good idea.  If you support this project by all means let them know all of their email addresses are @woolwich.ca (tcowan, apoffenroth, jaherteis, mbauman, bbryant).  I suspect that an overwhelming majority of this region do not support this development.  I will be the first to say I was wrong if this is not the case.

You have a choice you can be a part of the "silent majority" that Mayor Cowan believes is in support of this casino or you can be a part of the vocal majority that does not support this development.  This is a democracy and your opinion matters!  Be heard!

Truly Inspirational - To This Day Project

The last little while I have been talking about how uninspiring I feel the idea of building a casino in my township is.  The argument that this helps us build and maintain our township is disappointing to me.  I thought that I would dedicate this post to showing you what is truly inspiring.  A friend of mine shared the video below on facebook and it moved me to make a post about it.  We all need to be aware of how our actions affect others and how others can affect us.

The To This Day Project is a project based on a spoken word poem written by Shane Koyczan called “To This Day”, to understand impact that bullying can have on an individual.

Shane Koyczan maintains a facebook page and a personal web site.  Shane speaks out against bullying and its long lasting effects.

“Don’t let your luggage define your travels, each life unravels differently.”

{ Shane Koyczan }

This is an amazing video with a happy and strong ending that you need to see for yourself.  Watch it here or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltun92DfnPY#!

Here is Shane Koyczan performing "To This Day" on YouTube.

If you want inspiration this is what it is made of.  We have no choice but to react to this by becoming better people.

This project was picked up and promoted by Upworthy.com.  We all have a responsibility to share and distribute this message as widely as we can.

Thanks for reading and take a moment to share this message how you see fit.

An Open Letter to Woolwich Township Council

February 20, 2013

Dear: Todd Cowan, Julie - Anne Herteis, Allan Poffenroth, Mark Bauman, Bonnie Bryant

I am a resident of Breslau and the Township of Woolwich. Before you is a decision that concerns me as a resident of this township. On March 5, 2013 you will be voting on a motion whether to pursue the construction of a casino within the township. This proposed casino will bring up to an estimated $4 million dollars a year to the township. I have one simple question that I would like you to consider.

How many lives are you comfortable with destroying for 4 million dollars?

1, 2 maybe less than 10?

It is well documented that proximity to casinos will increase problem gambling.  Dr. Liana Nolan who is the Medical officer of Health for our region has stated this fact. I know and understand that most people who use casinos are not problem gamblers and enjoy the recreational activities of gambling. Gambling can be fun and exciting for many people. Those people are not who I am talking about. I am asking you if you are comfortable introducing even one person to gambling that may never have experienced it if it was not built in this township? Ms. Snyder is correct by saying “The Township of Woolwich is a business, it’s a corporation, it’s not a church, and they shouldn't be telling constituents what their values should be.”  I am asking you what are your values?  What do you stand for?

I am not comfortable with even one person experiencing the loss and devastation of an addiction.  I would never feel comfortable making a decision that knowingly will lead to this end.  I am asking you to vote against this proposal. I would argue that since Waterloo Region’s six other municipalities have said no to a casino they must feel the same way. To make matters worse for me you state a potential location as Shantz Station Road in Breslau. Are you trying to position this building as far away from Elmira as possible? The Ontario Lottery and Gaming corporation does not want to help out Woolwich. They want to make money off of your tax payers. If they have enough excess to pay us $4 million how much do they take?

The Region of Waterloo is an inspirational region that has changed the world and will continue to do so. I want Woolwich to be inspirational. You say gambling is just down the road in Elora and “it’s not like we’re introducing something new.”  This is your reason for making this massive decision to build a large scale casino.  I want you to create something new, inspire me and the future generations that come after me.  Be something.  Be inspiring.

Thank you for your time,

Matthew VanderMeer

http://thescenefromhere.blogspot.ca/



Woolwich Casino in the news - CTV

• http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/public-opinion-remains-divided-on-woolwich-casino-1.1164250
• http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/rest-of-waterloo-region-should-have-say-in-woolwich-casino-says-zehr-1.1147668
• http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/woolwich-residents-speak-out-against-proposed-casino-1.1106757

Woolwich Casino in the news - The Record

• http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/889499--brantford-politicians-weigh-in-on-impact-of-a-casino
• http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/888910--woolwich-braces-for-casino-reaction-at-public-meeting-tuesday

Community Impact Analysis - My thoughts

The Community Impact Analysis - Proposed Gaming Facility in Woolwich Township report put together by David Brenneman and the Senior Management Team (SMT) of the Township of Woolwich was released.  The following is the recommendation from that report.

THAT Council, following consideration of the information, input and analysis outlined in the attached Report A01-2013, provide direction to Staff as to whether the Township should proceed to advise the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corporation as follows: 

"That the Township of Woolwich agrees to be a willing host for a new gaming facility"

AND THAT should Council support being a host community, that council provide direction to staff as to whether it wishes to attach any conditions of approval to this agreement.

To start of my thoughts on this recommendation I would like to commend the staff who worked on this report as it is quite thorough and contains many details that I find interesting.  You can read the full report on your own if you would like.

First quick read through the report I found 51 instances of the word "potential" and "might/may/usually" combined for 26 times.  I understand that we need to be cautious as you move forward on something but this didn't instill confidence in me.  To complete this word count perspective the word "problem" shows up 61 times.

The best part of the report is where they talk about the public input that they received through the "Green Card initiative" that I explained in an earlier post. The result of that green card was that 11% (1954) responded with 62% (1159) stating that they were not in favour of moving forward with a casino in Woolwich. (p.41) This part of the report kind of contradicted something they wrote a bit later:

With the growth and change in demographics, the makeup of the broader Woolwich community has evolved, and there appears to be a much greater willingness to explore and consider the community infrastructure benefits that could be derived from the establishment of a casino. (p.40)

If 38% of respondents is a "greater willingness" then I would hate to see what it was before. Of course I am not very happy with an 11% response rate from the target community.  I would have appreciated that more resources spent to gain a better understanding of the communities opinion of this casino.  If this response can be somewhat similar to that last municipal election that put this current Council in place (36% - 6089) I would feel much more comfortable with it.  However, 2/3 of the people who could actually find that card voiced their opposition so that should count for something.  The Council should have given this initiative more resources and awareness.

The main purpose for putting a casino in Woolwich is for revenue.

It is estimated that the Township of Woolwich could receive $4 million per year or more in gaming revenue. (p.26)

Now this statement combined with another one later in the report gave me a bit of a pause.

With time participation rates go down because the novelty has worn off, and the populations familiarity with the product (and potentially adverse experience) helps inoculate them from further harms. (p.30)

So does this mean our coveted estimated $4 million could be less as time goes on as we become more dependent on this income?

Does Woolwich have a need for an additional $4 million? Can someone explain how we got in such a state that this is what is needed to fix it?

To put this in perspective, this level of additional funding would equate to a 40% increase to the Township's Capital Budget, or alternatively the Township would need to approve a 52% increase to the tax rates to raise an equivalent amount through property taxes. (p.26)

What happens when we become dependent on this unbelievable increase in our capital budget and then the OLG changes the rules and we lose everything?  If you think that this can't happen you should go talk to the Centre Wellington folks and ask them.  This type of monetary only increase is not going to help in the long term economic sustainability of the Township of Woolwich.  We have to focus on sustainable growth and development that provides Woolwich with a unique identity.  Give people a reason to come to Woolwich to be inspired and to invest in our future.  We exist on the edge of Waterloo the most innovated community in Canada and we want to put up a casino because we are so unimaginative that we can't do better.

My big problem is that they ask the public for an opinion but do not adequately give us a good reason why the results of that opinion are not valid?  I know that this is just a staff report that the Council needs to read and then vote on.  I hope that the Council does their own homework by talking to people. The next municipal election is scheduled for October 27, 2014. I hope that these Councillors and the Mayor realize that listening to their constituency is the best way to keep their own jobs.  I want a government that inspires me to be a citizen of Woolwich.  This whole process is very uninspiring.

This is the Record article that discusses this report.  The first of 2 public meetings will be tonight February 19, 2013 at 6pm.  The meeting is planned for council chambers in the township office building, 24 Church St. W., in Elmira. If you want to find out more then you can go.

A little fun with images

So I notice that I rant a bit on this blog so I thought I should post something a little more fun.  Here are some pictures from our office holiday party that I framed up.

No casino in my back yard please!

I have been doing a bit of looking around and I have found some more information on casinos and their impact on the local area.  I also found this site http://nowoolwichcasino.org which is informing people about this casino project (that's where I found to mouse trap image).  Please go over to the site and learn more about what is going on there.

I have also learned that OLG is trying to move the casino in Hamilton to a more downtown area and there has been a facebook group created to oppose that project.  There is a very lively discussion there as well with a lot of interesting information including this image:

While reading more on this topic of gambling and casinos the most popular voices from the support of casinos can be summed up in the following statements:

1. Gamblers will go where the action is no matter what any health, counselors or anyone else for that matter. May as well be here so we can reap the benefits.
2. If people might destroy their life due to gambling so we should not allow it then also we should not allow smoking, drinking or eating fat/sweet food.

#1. The question of benefits is a good one, here is a quote that I have found in a few places but couldn't verify 100%:

"In Atlantic City, within 4 years of the casinos opening, 40% of the city’s restaurants closed as did 1/3 of the retail businesses."

The reason for this was that the casinos became the "only game in town" and began to expand to include eating facilities and merchandise shops killing any other small market business.  Gamblers also prefer not to leave their gambling site if they don't have to.  Building a casino anywhere in Woolwich is not going to help any surrounding business.  This is not sustainable growth and development.  Being a resident of Breslau I see the township routinely overlooking us for services despite our rapid population grown.  We don't have a library, pool, arena or any other funded recreation facilities, and now they think Woolwich's big contribution to the Breslau area is a casino! I am thoroughly unimpressed.

#2. Now the question about what behaviors and products should be controlled by government and which ones shouldn't is much more difficult to answer.  However, this is why we have public debate and why all opinions should be heard and discussed so that the residents of the areas where these products are provided should be able to collectively decide.  The decision should also ensure that the community has been engaged and a large enough proportion of the residents (not just respondents) should be in favour of this project.

• Smoking is a very highly controlled behaviour because it doesn't only affect the health of the smoker.  It also affects the health of all those around the smoker by second hand smoke.  Cigarette packages also have strong warning messages on them informing the smoker regarding the behaviour they are engaged in.
• Drinking and alcohol are also very tightly controlled in Ontario with sales only permitted in certain licensed establishments.  Servers of alcohol and there place of work can be found criminally responsible if they over serve a customer and that customer gets into there car and gets into an accident.  I don't know if the law extends to the black jack dealer in a casino in the same way.
• Fast food / unhealthy food choices are slowly becoming more regulated as well, where more nutrition information needs to be made more available.

The reason that these 3 behaviours are regulated by government is because of the potential to addiction and thus significant health problems. For those of us who do not suffer from true addiction we have a hard time trying to understand what it means.  For others it is a very real and very significant problem.  Problem drinkers, gamblers, eaters and smokers do NOT choose to have this problem.  Yes, they may have made poor choices earlier to get to the problem stages, but they don't choose to loose all their money at a card table, they don't choose alcoholism that destroys their lives, they don't choose to constantly smoke despite the fact they can't breath.  Mental health addiction is just as sad as cancer and if I can do something /  anything to prevent even one person from that I would.  Just as I would do anything to help someone avoid a cancer diagnosis.  Before people discount this and say, people should be free to do whatever they want, lets consider the argument of a publicly funded health care system.  You pay for the health care of others, I would rather pay for the prevention of these types of problems instead of creating a catalyst.  A catalyst that will increase health care costs as well as costs of other social programs.

"The evidence shows that the closer you live to a casino, the more likely there is to be gambling and problem gambling" - Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton’s medical officer of health (Proximity feeds addiction: Richardson).

To close I offer you this document Position Statement by City of Toronto Medical Officer of Health.

OLG wants a Casino in my backyard - I think NOT

So if you are a resident of the Township of Woolwich you would have received this card in the mail this past week (December 2 - 8, 2012).  I totally missed it and had to go digging in my recycling box to find it.  Let's just hope that the township didn't send this out on purpose on the same day as the flyers.  That would just make me angry.

Apparently, "The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has approached the Township to find out if interest exists concerning the possible establishment of a gaming facility in the municipality."

As a resident of the Township of Woolwich this concerns me greatly.  A casino is an extremely bad idea, it is not about the money it is about how you obtain that money.  We have to think long term about the values that we want in our township.

"Why is Council open to considering a possible gaming facility? It has been estimated that gaming facility can contribute approximately $4 million dollars per year to host municipalities"

Ok, lets just check out this statement "ESTIMATED"  and "APPROXIMATELY" are not very strong words now are they? Not only that, but if the casino can generate revenues in such excess to provide the host municipality $4 million dollars how much money has it stolen from the residents of said municipality.  Where do the supporters of casino funds to municipalities think the money comes from? Remember "The House" always wins and the Township and the residence are not "The House". People give your heads a shake.  Before we all get excited about the money don't forget this story about OLG potentially changing the rules on revenue sharing.  They are "The House" and they make and break the rules.  The Township Concil doesn't want to be put into this position in several years:

“It was not good news for us. It was not a good day,” said Michael Wood, chief administrative officer of the Township of Centre Wellington, which includes Elora. “We just don’t know what the announcement is really going to mean.”

Casinos are not sustainable municipal development. If you want to get some real information on gambling visit the University of Waterloo's Gambling Research Team or Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre.

We are suppose to check off "Yes" or "No" to the following question:

"Do you support the establishment of a gaming facility in Woolwhich?"

They forgot the option of "Heck, No you crazy politicians" because that is the box that I'd be checking.  If you want your opinion heard on this please go to www.woolwich.ca/olgsurvey.   The deadline is Friday, December 21, 2012.

Here is some discussion of a possible casino in The Township of Woolwich.

Here are the search results of other articles in the Record on the possible casino in Woolwich.

I would like to applaud the Cambridge council for dumping this idea as they voted to reject it.  Gambling is not a source of revenue, it is a source of problems now and into the future.  Please be informed and inform the Council in Woolwich that this is a bad idea. Woolwich said "No" to the slot machines in the past and now they have an arena and new homes on that land.  New homes and other services provide stable income for the municipality.  Casinos only provide an income as long as they are making more then they are providing to you.

Ok, this rant is over but I can almost guarantee that I will have more to say on this issue.

Say "YES" to a positive sustainable future and say "NO" to a casino in your backyard.