Niagara taking casinos fight to Queen’s Park
Political delegation in Toronto today to argue for jobs
The day after Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. started a process to find new operators for Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, a delegation from Niagara is in Toronto to speak out against potential job losses.
Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, Regional Chair Alan Caslin, Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates and Niagara West–Glanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff will host a news conference at Queen’s Park this morning.
It follows a rally held in front of the Fallsview Casino March 29.
Diodati’s concerns stem from a third-party study which found the province’s plan to select a new operator for its Niagara casinos could result in 1,400 job losses in the region.
Last year, Diodati and Caslin sent a joint letter to Finance Minister Charles Sousa asking the request for proposal be terminated.
They felt the province’s goal of “maximizing provincial revenue” would undermine the original objectives of Casino Niagara when it opened in 1996, including job creation and economic development for the city.
“And now, they’ve flipped the model on its side and it’s about up-front money to the province — to heck with the jobs,” said Diodati Monday. “Although OLG differs with our opinion of how many jobs will be lost, they don’t argue the fact that we will be losing jobs.
“Losing jobs to the GTA, because this is essentially a re-distribution of jobs from Niagara to Toronto.”
The city’s two casinos are currently operated by Falls Management Group on OLG’s behalf. Last year, OLG notified the company it would not extend its contract past its current term which ends July 10, 2019.
OLG expects to announce the successful service provider in summer 2018. A news release issued Monday stated “there will be no further communication by OLG” about the request process until a winner is announced.
Diodati says the city was “assured” by the OLG it would be part of the process for developing a request for proposal, but it hasn’t materialized.
“They seem to be ignoring our pleas for, at the very least, protecting the jobs that we have now,” he says. “There seems to be no appetite for that. We’re very disappointed.”
At more than 4,000 jobs, the two Niagara Falls casinos form the region’s largest employer.
Today’s press conference takes place in the Queen’s Park Media Studio Room, starting at 9:15 a.m. All four Niagara MPPs were invited.