Greetings Mr. Mayor and Council:
The Ontario Government has recently been discussing plans to overhaul gambling in the province and at the same time the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission have plans to unlock greater funding for health care and education.
In a recent interview OLG Chairman Paul Godfrey said OLG would not make a move to build a casino in Toronto or anywhere else in Ontario until it knew the stance of the local government.
I strongly urge this Council to at least discuss the issue and see if we could take the first step in the “Cornwall Casino” project by
following Chairman Godfrey’s suggestion and find out the stance of the local government.
On a personal note, I think that there is land available on the waterfront for a Casino and Entertainment Centre and also we are
already seeing lots of our local money end up at the other Casinos. It would be nice to see some of this money stay at home.
Respectfully yours,
Mark A. MacDonald – Cornwall Ontario
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They had a chance at this before. I wonder if they will stick to their original decision, or finally move forward into the current century.
I agree! I wrote something very similar while discussing Cornwall’s lack of a full-time tourist attraction. Definitely worth discussing!
Living in Cornwall is rather like a casino already. The luck of the draw determines whether you get decent service that people are not on strike. And most of all, whether you get a job
I believe a casino on the waterfront would be an excellent addition to the Cornwall economy. It would also open up other business opportunities. I hope they pursue this.
I agree with Mark. Though Mark is certainly not the first to forward this idea, he is timely in that Ontario is now looking at expanding Casinos.
While acknowledging the churches and others in opposition it has come down to sink or swim. Do we continue to erode Cornwalls financial base(that of citizens willing to part company with there dollars in hopes of fun and bigger wins) continuing to move to other towns outside of our catch basin. Do we instead go for broke in hopes of their retention here at a chance of enrighing our own coffers while sharing in the Ontario debt paydown.
Much talk is of use of the waterfront. Sure, the on and off restaurant location at the Civic Complex or near by is bantered around however I thnk it is time now for the East end to see development on the former Courtaulds property. There is ample space for a sizable, expandable stand alone Casino as well as lots of parking spaces.
Anyway, these remain for down the road. Hopefilly the down the road won’t go the road at Cornwalls ‘left behind’ histories.
I’d like to see Mike Bedard on council but he’s hanging himself with his daily self-important comments which will come back to haunt him. Just saying.
Mark MacDonald has been trying to bring gambling to the area ever since he and his brother tried to quietly get slots into their Print Barn business on Power Dam Drive a few years back. Fortunately, town council halted them in their tracks then as I hope city council does now.
My response to Pastor Tom Newton’s letter on the subject;
“Problem gambling is gambling behavior that creates negative consequences for the gambler, others in his or her social network, or for the community.” <<< As a past member of a service club in Cornwall, I still shudder when I think of the amount of money our club raised at bingos and carnivals from welfare recipients or lower income patrons who would try and increase their means while actually gambling away their monthly benefit or income. These were funds which were supposed to feed and clothe their families. How many marriages have ended, families have been destroyed, houses and personal properties have been repossessed, or crimes have been committed due to the desperation of pathological gamblers? Do we really need to add another temptation in our city to those who suffer from an addiction which has the lowest success rate of treatment of all addictions, including drugs and alcohol?
These comments are my personal opinions, but are based in fact so please consider the negative consequences of a gambling establishment against any positive advantages and then say “NO” to a casino in Cornwall, every chance you get.