Duncan, Ford accept casino vote
Mayor Rob Ford and provincial Finance Minister Dwight Duncan say they would accept a referendum on whether to build the Toronto casino they both endorse.
A provincial regulation that once made a referendum mandatory has now lapsed, but Duncan says he would respect the outcome of a Toronto referendum if council chose to hold one.
“We’re leaving it up to council and the people of Toronto,” Duncan told reporters Wednesday.
“We’ll work with those who want to work with us and we certainly won’t impose anything on anybody.”
Residents of all six of the former municipalities that now make up Toronto overwhelmingly rejected the suggestion of casinos in a 1997 referendum. In a poll in January of this year, 50 per cent of 1,560 residents surveyed were opposed and 35 per cent were in favour.
Councillor Adam Vaughan will ask council next week to require a referendum before councillors themselves consider the casino question. Under his proposal, the referendum would have to be held during a general election, the next of which is in late 2014.
Vaughan said he opposes both a casino and a referendum. But if casino advocates like Ford want to bring the issue to council, he said, they should first have to allow city residents to vote on it again.
“The previous referendum stands. I think it needs to be council policy that when you hold a referendum, you can’t just overrule it with a simple council vote. You have to hold another referendum. But I don’t see why we need to. The public doesn’t want a casino,” Vaughan said.
Ford said Wednesday that a Toronto casino would create good jobs and stimulate the economy. But he said he would be “fine” with a referendum.
“I’ve never been opposed,” he told reporters. He added: “I think we should put a couple of questions on the referendum, including subways.”
Duncan said a casino could be a $4-billion project and create 4,000 permanent jobs. The province, he said, envisions an “entertainment destination” unparalleled in Canada.
Ford said Etobicoke’s Woodbine racetrack and slots parlour, located in his former council ward, would be the best casino site, but he is open to all suggestions.