No matter how silly and hokey I think the TV show "Men in Trees" is, the shots of Squamish and area are beautiful. None of these reviews say where Men in Trees is filmed so to set the record straight The Chieftain, the bar on the show with the funky sign, really does exist in downtown Squamish.
Here are a few websites that feature building with cob as well as strawbales:
http://www.islandnet.com/~anngord/
(building ‘off the grid’ on Vancouver Island)
www.eco-sense.ca (more on the above)
I love the look of cob construction!
Today the Economic Policy Institute released NAFTA Revisited: Still not working for North America’s workers, a three-country report showing that NAFTA has not lived up to its promise of better jobs and faster growth for Mexico, Canada, and the United States. CCPA Executive Director Bruce Campbell authored the Canadian chapter of the report.
The news release for the report is pasted below. The entire report can be downloaded from the CCPA web site at http://www.policyalternatives.ca and from the EPI web site at http://www.epi.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 28, 2006
Three-country study details effects on economies, labour markets
Twelve years under the rules of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, has had a perverse impact on the distribution of income, wealth, and political power across the continent. A new three-country report shows that NAFTA has not lived up to its promise of better jobs and faster growth for Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Instead it has promoted an integrated continental economy with rules set by and for the benefit of the political and economic elite. NAFTA Revisited, a report released today by the Economic Policy Institute, details the trade deal’s effects on the economies, working people and the labor markets of all three nations.
Jeff Faux, EPI Distinguished Fellow and author of The Global Class War, states in the introduction, "NAFTA rules protect the interests of large corporate investors while undercutting workers’ rights, environmental protections, and democratic accountability. The time for a continent-wide debate over the future of this agreement, which was negotiated by and for the rich and powerful in all three countries, is now overdue."
Mexico
NAFTA’s preamble promised sustained growth of the member countries ”particularly in Mexico” such that Mexican workers would enjoy increases in both the number and quality of jobs. NAFTA Revisited co-author, Carlos Salas, illustrates how, instead of growth in Mexico, NAFTA made employment more precarious and sent wages on a race to the bottom. Corporate earnings have grown while inequality in income distribution has followed a volatile path.
Since NAFTA took effect, employment in Mexico has become ever more precarious: of all new salaried positions generated between the second quarter of 2000 and the second quarter of 2004, only 37% have full benefits, and 23% have no benefits at all.
NAFTA increased employment in the low-wage maquiladora industries of Mexico, with the benefits flowing mainly to large companies, the financial sector, and a thin layer of administrative and professional workers earning high salaries. Despite steady growth of investments in maquiladoras, the flow of account balances between firms does not translate into real technology transfer that would strengthen and stabilize Mexico’s industrial sector - one of the great promises NAFTA held out for Mexico.
Meanwhile, the agricultural sector has suffered a large and steady loss of employment due to NAFTA. The share of the population engaged in agricultural activities fell from 26.8% in 1991 to 16.4% in 2004, a significant decrease.
NAFTA must be revised in order to create a social fund that stimulates the development of infrastructure and employment in the country as a whole and especially in Mexico’s most marginalized regions, said Mr. Salas. Mexico’s experience should serve as a warning concerning the dangers of any trade agreement, bilateral or multilateral, which is similar to NAFTA.
Canada
NAFTA promised Canada increased economic growth, income, and employment across all sectors, regions, and income groups; closure of the longstanding productivity gap with the United States; the creation of a more diversified, efficient, and more knowledge-based economy; and, an economy that would maintain and strengthen the generous Canadian social model.
Co-author Bruce Campbell details the broken promises that are the hallmarks of the NAFTA free trade era in Canada: the growth of precarious employment, the undermining of unions as a countervailing power to transnational capital, the erosion of the Canadian social state, and heightened economic dependence on the United States.
Under NAFTA’s rules, Canada has lowered the government’s spending on individuals and social programs while real incomes have virtually stagnated, except for those at the top. Average income has registered the worst performance of any comparable period since World War II, and inequality (after taxes and transfers) has grown for the first time since the 1920s.
The productivity gap with the United States, which was supposed to narrow under free trade, has in fact widened. Canadian labor productivity (GDP per hour worked) rose steadily in relation to U.S. productivity during the 1960s and 1970s, peaking at 92% of the U.S. level in 1984. Thereafter, it slid to 89% in 1989 and by 2005 had fallen to just 82% of U.S. productivity below where it was in 1961.
At its core, NAFTA is about shifting the power in the economy from government to corporations, from workers to corporations, explained Mr. Campbell. Without a rebalancing of power in the continental economy, these problems will worsen.
United States
EPI economist Robert Scott documents the job displacement and declining job quality that NAFTA imposed on the U.S. economy.
Growing trade deficits with Mexico and Canada after NAFTA took effect reduced employment in high-wage, traded-goods industries, resulting in a substantial loss of income for such workers. Growing trade deficits with Mexico and Canada have displaced production that supported 1,015,291 U.S. jobs since NAFTA took effect in 1994. The displacement of 1 million jobs from traded to non-traded goods industries reduced wage payments to U.S. workers by $7.6 billion in 2004 alone.
The lost job opportunities are distributed among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with the biggest losers, in numeric terms: California (-123,995), Texas (-72,257), Michigan (-63,148), New York (-51,582), Ohio (-49,886), Illinois (-47,701), Pennsylvania (-44,173), Florida (-39,987), Indiana (-35,157), North Carolina (-34,150), and Georgia (-30,464).
Growing trade deficits with Mexico and Canada under NAFTA contributed to inequality in wages and falling demand for workers without a post-secondary education, males in trade-related production, and minorities, said Scott.
About the Authors:
Carlos Salas holds a PhD in economics and is currently a professor of Regional Development at El Colegio de Tlaxcala and is also a member of the Board of Directors at Instituto de Estudios del Trabajo (IET) in Mexico City. Along with Enrique de la Garza he has recently edited the 2006 version of The State of Working in Mexico.
Bruce Campbell is Executive Director (since 1994) of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. His books include Straight Through the Heart: How the Liberals Abandoned the Just Society, (1995), and the forthcoming Living with Uncle: Canada-US Relations in an Age of Empire, (2006).
Robert Scott holds a PhD in economics and Director of International Programs at the Economic Policy Institute. His research has been published in academic journals and widely cited in major newspapers.
–
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
410-75 Albert Street, Ottawa ON K1P 5E7
tel: 613-563-1341 fax: 613-233-1458
http://www.policyalternatives.ca
caw567
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This is good to see!
TORONTO, Sept. 28 /CNW/ - Ontario nurses feel compelled to respond to
your government’s decision to cut one billion dollars in spending. Given the
overwhelming evidence that the health of Canadians is profoundly affected by
social determinants of health, members of the Registered Nurses’ Association
of Ontario (RNAO) are asking you to reverse these planned cuts.
Prime Minister Harper, these cuts will affect people who rely on these
very critical programs. For example, alarming rates of smoking in Aboriginal
communities will go unchecked with the elimination of funding for the First
Nations and Inuit Tobacco Strategy. We are also alarmed that sound health and
social policy will be eroded by eliminating funding for such programs as the
Medical Marijuana Research Program, the Canadian Policy Research Networks, and
Health Canada’s Policy Research Program.
Cuts to research programs on the health of visible minorities and support
for voluntary programs will be detrimental to the health of vulnerable
populations. Cuts to programs aimed at improving adult literacy and workplace
skills will compromise opportunities for the working poor and youth to find
better jobs and to build a brighter future.
As nurses, we know that health is more than health-care. Many of the
proposed cuts will exacerbate social exclusion. For example, the Court
Challenges Program has allowed minority groups such as Aboriginals, gays and
lesbians, and people with disabilities to challenge federal laws which
discriminate and lead to inequality. We are gravely concerned that Canada’s
tradition as a fair and just society is being damaged.
Prime Minister Harper, we understand there is a role for fiscal
responsibility in the budget process. However, the government’s attempt to
promote itself as a model of "prudent fiscal management" leaves tens of
thousands of Canadians behind at a time when the government is sitting on a
$13 billion budget surplus. Ontario’s nurses know that the long-term costs of
these cuts will far exceed any immediate savings, and will undermine the
progress being made to help disadvantaged and vulnerable people.
It is in the interest of all Canadians and our future as a nation that
you reverse these cuts.
Respectfully,
Mary Ferguson Paré, RN, PhD, CHE Doris Grinspun, RN, MSN, PhD(c) O.Ont
President Executive Director
Registered Nurses’ Association Registered Nurses’ Association
of Ontario of Ontario
-30-
/For further information: Marion Zych, Director of Communications, RNAO,
Phone: (416) 408-5605, 1-800-268-7199 ext. 209, Cell: (647) 406-5605, E-mail:
mzych@rnao.org/
I haven’t mentioned that two weeks ago, we went to Harrison Hot Springs (for general information see http://www.harrison.ca/harrison/; for a regional map see http://www.harrison.ca/maps/areamap.html). As a newbie to BC, it was good to drive through some of the places I hear about from people I meet: Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Mission, Chilliwack - all towns or cities that are almost suburbs of Vancouver as people commute to work each day. Harrison Hot Springs is about 2 hours from Vancouver. Visually I was somehow reminded of the area near Huntsville where I went to summer camp though the mountains are higher in HHS.
For those who aren’t able (or can’t afford) to stay in the swank resort with its own access to both indoor and outdoor pools filled with thermal waters, there is the downtown public pool and that is where we went for a soak. If I went again, I would probably fork out the money to stay at the fancy hotel but they didn’t allow dogs and E-dog did another road trip. While the waters in the public pool were hot and relaxing, I could not help but compare the experience (negatively) to the hot springs I have returned to again and again near San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. No doubt we will explore some of the other hot springs in the area which are located in outdoors and somewhat arduous to get to.
Still, there are pictures and I will upload them soon!
I looked out the back door this evening and there was a beautiful golden quarter moon over the Howe Sound. Too bad the digital camera does not do night shots as far as I can tell.
I wrote a wee bit earlier about the large percentage of Sikhs in Squamish and here is some more information about the history of the Sikh population in Canada, especially Vancouver and area.
One of the most tragic events took place in 1914 when the boat Komagata Maru was escorted out of Vancouver under the guard of the Canadian Navy (to read more about this see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komagata_Maru). I saw in the newspaper that a mural has recently been commissioned in Surrey to remember this event. In the wikipedia article two films are noted:
In 2004, Ali Kazimi’s feature documentary Continuous Journey was released, This is the first in-depth film to examine the events surrounding the turning away of the Komagata Maru. The primary source research done for the film led to the remarkable discovery of rare film footage of the ship in Vancouver harbour. Eight years in the making Continuous Journey has won over ten awards, including the Most Innovative Canadian Documentary at DOXA, Vancouver 2005, and most recently, Golden Conch at the Mumbai International Film Festival, 2006
A movie about the incident titled Exclusion by director Deepa Mehta is scheduled to be released in 2006.
from http://www.explorasian.org/history_sikhcdn.html
SOME SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS IN SIKH-CANADIAN HISTORY
1897
Sikh Lancers and Infantry regiment visited Vancouver after
celebrating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in London, England.
1899
Arrival of some Sikhs in Vancouver and Victoria are from Hong Kong.
1904
The arrival of the first wave of Sikh immigrants. The census listed 258 Sikhs.
1904
Siri guru Granth Sahib Ji was first brought to Canada by Bhai Arjan Singh.
The scriptures were located at a house in Port Moody.
1905
For the next three years, 5000 Sikhs came to Canada.
1906
A house was rented in Vancouver to start a Gurdwara. A resolution was
adopted on July 22 to start the establishment of Khalsa Diwan Society.
1907
Sikhs were denied the right to vote when the government of B.C. passed
a bill to disenfranchise all natives of India not born of Anglo-Saxon parents.
1907
Foundation stone of the Gurdwara for Khalsa Diwan Society
was laid at 1866 West Second Avenue, Vancouver.
1907
A contingent of 901 Sikhs arrived on the Canadian Pacific steamer
Monteagle in Vancouver on September 12, 1907. Race riots were
held in Vancouver in which the Orientals and the Sikhs were targeted.
1908
On July 8, order-in-Council designed to stop all immigration from India
with the "continuous journey" clause and "possession of $200" was passed.
1908
January 19, the first Sikh parade (Nagar Kirtan) took palce to celebrate
the opening of the Gurdwara on Second Avenue in Vancouver.
The first Granthi was Bahai Balwant Singh.
1908
Scheme to deport all the Sikhs from Canada to British Hondurans (Belize).
1908
Arrival of Sant (Professor) Teja Singh in Vancouver on October 17.
1908
First Amrit ceremony in Canada took place in Vancouver.
1909
On February 13, the congregation at the Girdwara rejected
the British Honduras proposal.
1909
Establishment of Guru Nanak Mining and Trust company,
and plans to buy 440 acres of land in West Vancouver.
1909
Khalsa Diwan Society was registered on March 13.
1911
The census for that year listed 2,342 Sikhs, less than half of that in 1908.
Only three were women.
1912
Gurdwaras were built in Vitoria, Fraser Mills, and Abbotsford.
1912
Hardial Singh Atwal was the first Sikh born in Canada on August 28.
1913
Establishment of the Ghadar Party was in North America.
The "Ghadar" newspaper was published the same year.
1914
April 4, the Komagata Maru (Guru Nanak Jahaz) departed Hong Kong
for Vancouver to challenge the "continuous journey" clause.
1914
May 23, arrival of the Komagata Maru with 376 Passengers, mostly
Sikhs, under the leadership of Bhai Gurdit Singh in Vancouver.
1914
July 23, the Komagata Maru was escorted out of Vancouver
under the guard of the Canadian Navy.
1914
Bhai Mewa Singh shot William Hopkinson at the Vancouver Courthouse
on October 21, to stop the injustices done to the Sikh community.
1915
Bhai Mewa Singh was hanged on January 11 in New Westminster.
He was given a ceremonial Canadian Sikhs Martyr.
1915
Khalsa Diwan Society was incorporated under the B.C. Societies Act
on February 23.
1918
Sikh population in British Colombia dropped to as low as 700.
1918
Mayo Lumber Company built a Sikh temple near Duncan, B.C. at Paldi.
This town was named after the village in India.
1919
Immigration restriction on bring wives and children
under eighteen years old from India were lifted.
1920
Sikh women and children started arriving from India.
1924
On July 13, the Sikh community sent a Jatha (a group of 10 Sikh martyrs)
to protest the interference of Gurdwara management by the
British Government in India.
1925
Khalsa Diwan Society had autonomous branches at Vancouver, Abbotsford,
New Westminster, Golden, Duncan, Coombs, and Ocean Falls.
1925
January 2, the Sikh community sent a Jatha (a group of 39 Sikh martyrs)
for the Jaito Morcha.
1929
Khalsa Diwan Society invited Charles Andrew, a friend of Mahatma Gandhi,
and Sir Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel laureate, to see first hand the unfair
treatment of the Sikhs.
1933
Vancouver Sikhs formed the India Grass Hockey Club.
Annual sports in memory of Babar Akali Martyrs were organized.
1935
September 7, the opening of the Hillcrest Sikh temple
(4 miles from Duncan). A parade was held to celebrate the opening.
1943
Organized labour helped the Sikh with the " fair pay to the Sikh" campaign.
1944
Survey of the Sikh in Canada showed that there were 1,756;
98% of them lived in British Columbia.
1947
Sikhs were granted franchise to vote and become Canadian citizens.
1949
Prime Minister Nehru visited the Vancouver Sikh temple
with his daughter Indira Grandhi.
1950
East Indian Canadian Welfare Association was formed.
1950
Narajan Singh Grewal was the first Sikh elected to a city council in Mission, B.C.
1951
There were 2,148 Sikhs in Canada.
1952
Akail Singh Sikh temple was formed after the conflict of religious practices.
1957
Quotas from India increased to 300 per year.
1962
Quota system was dropped in favour of non-discriminatory immigration law.
1965
First Gurdwara in the province of Ontario.
1967
New immigration regulation based on point system was introduced.
1969
March 30,foundation stone for the Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara
at 8000 Ross Street was laid.
1969
Khalsa Diwan Society celebrated the quincentenary birthday of Guru Nanak
Dev Ji at its new Gurdwara at 8000 Ross Street on November 23.
1970
April 25, Khalsa Diwan Society offically opened its new Gurdwara at
8000 Ross Street, following a Nagar Kirtan from 1866 Second Avenue.
1970
Commencement of Ladies Sat-Sang and Saturday evening
Kirtan Diwan at Khalsa Diwan Society.
1970
Punjabi classes started at the Gurdwara at 8000 Ross Street in July.
1972
Punjabi classes started in the evening at David Thompson Secondary
School in September.
1974
Celebration of centenary of the Singh Sabha Movement,
with tour of Sikh dignitaries around B.C.
1974
The tradition to entre a Sikh temple with a head covering (which had
been neglected for a few years) was received by a special resolution.
1975
"Sikh Samachar" a newspaper, was published by the B.C. Sikh societies.
1975
Commemoration of the Tercentenary of Siri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.
1975
First Ragi Jatha (Bhai Bakhshish Singh Ji) that came from
Shiromni Gurdwara Parbanhak Committee (S.G.P.C.)
1978
The executive committee of the Khalsa Diwan Society,
Vancouver was elected for the first time by a ballot voting system.
1979
The 500th birthday of Guru Amar Das Ji. Since that year,
an annual Vaisakhi Parade (Nagar Kirtan) is held in Vancouver.
1979
October 2, Khalsa Diwan Society purchased an adjoining building
named "Guru Amar Das Niwas". This building has a school,
daycare, museum, Gurdwara and guestrooms.
1980
Federation of Sikh Societies of Canada was the first Sikh
organization registered nationally.
1980
January 6, broadcast started of the Sikh religious program
"Gurmat Sandesh".
1982
Khalsa Diwan Society purchased 28 acres in Richmond, B.C.
to build a sports complex.
1982
Two Jathas from Canada went to India to participate in the
"Dharam Yudh Morcha"
1982
Honourable Wally Oppal was appointed a Supreme Court judge.
He later conducted the Royal Inquiry to Policing in British Columbia.
1983
A Sikh Chair was established at the University of British of Columbia.
1984
A Sikh Chair was established at the University of Toronto.
1984
June 3, Operation Bluestar military attack on the Golden Temple
(Siri Darbar Sahib), in Amritsar, India occurred.
Thousands of innocent Sikhs were killed.
1984
A protest denouncing the Golden Temple massacre was attended
by 15,000 Sikhs in downtown Vancouver near the Indian High
Commission office on June 10.
1986
Metro Toronto Police permitted Sikhs to wear their turbans
while on duty with the force.
1986
Khalsa School, a full time private school was established in Vancouver.
This school teaches Sikh religion and Punjabi language classes.
1986
Khalsa Credit Union was registered on February 19, to provide
financial service to the Sikh Community. Today there are five
branches with assets of over a hundred million dollars.
1986
First Sikh elected to any provincial legislature in Canada was
Manmohan (Moe) Sahota from Esquimalt, British Colombia.
1987
A steamer named Amelie with 174 refugees,
mostly Sikhs landed in Nova Scotia.
1987
Protest by 3,000 Sikhs against Human Rights violation during
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Grandhi’s visit at the Commonwealth
Prime Minister’s Conference in Vancouver on October 12.
1988
February 25, Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark asked premiers
to boycott activities of three Sikh organizations.
1988
March 10, the Canadian Parliament devoted a whole day to
debate the issue of the Sikh’s rights and the issue of Khalistan.
1988
Dr. Gulzar Singh Cheema was elected as an M.L.A. to
the Manitoba legislature.
1989
July 23 marked the 75th anniversary of the Komagala Maru Incident.
Sikh societies across Canada commemorated this reprehensible incident.
1990
A plaque commemorating the Komagata Maru Incident was placed at
Portal Park in Vancouver on May 23 jointly by the municipal, provincial,
and federal Governments.
1990
March 15, the solicitor General of Canada announced that the RCMP
dress code would be amended to have a turbaned Sikh join the force.
Constable Baltej Singh Dhillon had the honour of becoming the first
baptized Sikh to join the RCMP.
1991
Three Sikhs were elected to the British Columbia legislature.
Manmohan (Moe) Sihota, and Ujjal Dosanjh have held various
cabinet posts, and the other M.L.A. is Harbhajan (Harry) Lalli.
1992
Khalsa school opened its facility with a Gurwara in Surrey, B.C.
1992
Formation of the Ontario Gurdwara Management Board.
1993
Gurbax Singh Mahli and Harbans (Herb) Dhaliwal were the
first Sikhs elected to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.
1993
In July, Vancouver Punjabi Market at Main and 49th Street was
officially recognized with bilingual signs in English and Punjabi.
1993
A 24 hour radio program featuring Sikh religion and Gurbani Kirtan
started to transmit from Vancouver. It broadcasts across Canada
and America VIA satellite.
1993
Five Sikh veterans were invited to participate in a Remembrance Day
parade on November 11, but were denied entry to the
Royal Canadian Legion in Newton, B.C.
1994
Akhand Path and Vaisakhi Day celebrations were held at the
Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.
1994
The foundation stone for the Sikh Resource Centre was laid by
the Akal Tahat Jathedar on July 24. Senior Centre for the Sikhs
was opened on November 29, in Surrey, B.C.
1995
The B.C. Government officially recognized the Vaisakhi Parade
and published a brochure.
1996
February 15, the Supreme Court of Canada reaffirmed a
Sikh officers right to wear a turban.
1996
In September, British Columbia schools started to offer Punjabi
language in its regular curriculum from grades five to twelve.
1996
There were over a hundred Gurdwaras across Canada.
Fifty of them were in B.C.
1996
Opening of the Sikh Resource Centre in Vancouver to celebrate
the centennial of the Sikhs in Canada on July 28.
1997
January 11 was the sad day when the sanctity of Guru Nanak
Sikh Temple in Surrey was desecrated with the intervention of the
dispute over the serving of Guru Ka Langar (community kitchen).
Last night caught snippets of "Men in Trees" on telly. The plot is lame but it is filmed in Squamish! It was fun to see Cleveland Avenue (Squamish’s main street), the local bars (The Chieftain and The Ocean Port also known as the OP), the bookstore, the marina and the Smoke Bluffs …
And my thoughts go out to those victims of the shooting in Montreal today as well to all those in Iraq who are subjected to such indiscriminate violence on a daily basis.
Ontario tax dollars at work … what about health and social programs?????
New logo costs lottery agency millions
MPP calls the change ‘extremely wasteful’
KAREN HOWLETT, Globe and Mail, 07/09/06
TORONTO — The Ontario Crown agency that manages the province’s casinos has become embroiled in controversy for spending up to $6-million in taxpayers’ money to re-brand the corporation.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., which had been known until recently as OLGC for short, spent between $4-million and $6-million to lop the C from its logo, chief executive officer Duncan Brown said yesterday. He was being questioned by Progressive Conservative MPP Joe Tascona at the standing committee on government agencies.
Mr. Tascona said in an interview after the hearing that the logo change seemed like an "extremely wasteful" exercise.
Mr. Brown said in the committee hearing that the new logo was just one part of the re-branding process. "It’s not about dropping a C," he said. "It’s about creating a brand that represents trust and integrity."
Mr. Brown was also grilled about why the lottery corporation’s contract with the advertising agency that created Premier Dalton McGuinty’s campaign ads more than doubled after the 2003 election. In 2004, Bensimon-Byrne received a new three-year contract for the lottery valued at $2.8-million. The firm’s previous three-year contract was valued at $1.4-million.
Lottery spokesman Joe Vecsi said a number of firms, including Bensimon-Byrne, were involved in the design and development of the new logo.
"Ontarians deserve an explanation for this Liberal-friendly advertising agency’s huge increase in its contract and they deserve to know why a Crown corporation is spending millions to drop a letter from its logo," Mr. Tascona said.
Yesterday was not the first time the ad agency’s government contracts have come under scrutiny. The Ontario government said in November that there was no political interference when Bensimon-Byrne’s total government contracts jumped to $6.3-million during the McGuinty government’s first full year in office from just $99,900 under its predecessor.
© Copyright 2006 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Casino profits to be halved in 3 years
Niagara, Windsor in most danger
Lee Greenberg, The Ottawa Citizen, Thursday, September 07, 2006
TORONTO - Profits at Ontario’s three border-area casinos, which have long been cash cows for the government coffers, will be slashed almost in half over a three-year period, a Crown executive said.
Beset by decreased traffic and increased competition, profits will decline $163 million by 2008.
"We’re anticipating that a series of events, which some people have described as a perfect storm, will have an impact," Duncan Brown, chief executive of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, said after appearing before a government committee.
"The source of revenue decline is focused on our large commercial casinos in the border regions," he said.
Increased U.S. competition, a rising Canadian dollar, a provincewide smoking ban and a decline in cross-border visits are all blamed for the casinos’ sagging fortunes, which are summarized in an OLGC document titled Four-Year Plan.
The projected decline in profitability is most extreme in Windsor and Niagara Falls.
The two Niagara casinos, which reaped $136.2 million net profit in 2005, are expected to fall to $32.8 million in profit in 2008. Profit at Casino Windsor will drop to $25.2 million from $101.1 million over the same period.
The hit, when added to capital expenditures, primarily at the Windsor casino, will amount to a nearly $500-million loss to the approximately $2-billion annual cash infusion the government receives from state-sanctioned gambling.
Mr. Brown told MPPs yesterday he expects profits to rebound significantly in 2009, nearly doubling at casinos in both cities.
Casino Windsor is currently in the midst of a $400-million expansion, which includes a 400-room hotel and a 100,000- square-foot convention centre that will include a 5,000-seat entertainment facility.
"We’ll be able to return Casino Windsor back to a position in the market that it previously occupied," Mr. Brown said, touting the new facility’s ability to bring in "a different, broader audience."
However, competition from neighbouring Detroit, which opened the door to gambling in 1999, is unrelenting. MGM Grand’s Detroit casino is also undergoing a complete revamp.
In Niagara Falls, where the government owns two casinos, Mr. Brown said changes to "management, marketing and operations" will lead to improvement in the business.
He also cautioned that "in both cases, of course, we’re also looking at the impact of border issues, change in the American currency and the impact of the smoke-free Ontario legislation."
Politicians on either side of the aisle cast doubt on the reasoning behind the company’s projected rebound.
"We’re projecting that revenues at our commercial casinos are going to go down over the next four years and then in the last year they magically go up by $500 million," said New Democratic MPP Gilles Bisson. "I just question where those numbers come from."
"The passport issue is going to be a problem," said Conservative MPP Laurie Scott, referring to U.S. legislation that goes into effect at Canadian land crossings in 2008.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
© 2006 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.
Charities take stand against pokies funding
1.00pm Friday September 8, 2006
Twenty charities have banded together and refused to accept the takings from pokie machines because they say the impact of gambling undermines their moves to help the needy.
The decision by the charities to join a No Pokies register set up by the Gambling Watch lobby group has been welcomed by the Public Health Association, which described the stand as "gutsy".
"There’s not a lot of funding around for charities, community groups and non-government organisations, so refusing pokie money takes real moral courage," said association director Gay Keating.
While charities did good work with their share of $300 million in pokie funds, Dr Keating said there was a bigger picture to be considered.
"The bottom line is that much of this money is sourced from people with a gambling addiction that is likely to have played havoc with their social, physical and mental health."
Problem gamblers found it harder to afford healthy food, heating, shelter, transport, medications and health services, she said.
"We know that poorer communities are hit hardest by losses on the pokies and other gambling. By choosing not to take ‘tainted’ money, these charities are acknowledging the harm caused by problem gambling."
- NZPA
