Town council said “thanks, but no thanks” last week to a request for support from the Northwestern Slots for Charity group to lobby the province to have video lottery terminals (VLTs) here.
Council merely approved a recommendation from the Administration and Finance executive committee to authorize a letter of reply be sent advising the town had received the group’s request for support but that no further action will be taken at this time.
But Mayor Dan Onichuk said he feels the matter likely will come back up for discussion sometime in the future.
“We haven’t shut out the issue. Whether people want to admit it or not, there’s gambling going on every day, whether it’s in the form of pull-tabs, lottery tickets, bingos,” he remarked.
“If the provincial government comes out and says they’ll open the doors for VLTs in the region, we’ll have the debate then,” the mayor added.
“I know it was voted on here in the past and defeated,” he said, referring to the question of whether VLTs should be allowed in Fort Frances which appeared on a ballot a few municipal elections ago.
“But maybe it’s time to talk about it again.”
He noted that, speaking only for himself, he felt VLTs or a casino would help keep money in the region since area residents currently are spending their money elsewhere on gambling excursions.
The mayor added that, as stated at the April 12 council meeting, he definitely would support seeing a casino built in International Falls.
One regional rep who would love to see VLTs allowed in Northwestern Ontario is Doug Stemkoski, owner of the Lakeshore Hotel in Keewatin and regional president of the Ontario Restaurant Motel and Hotel Association.
Stemkoski is issuing a challenge to the provincial government to allow Northwestern Ontario bar owners to place VLTs in their establishments as a pilot project.
He said this would generate up to $200 million in one year—money which the Liberals forfeited when the proposed “fat tax” was shot down last month.
“We could make it up very quickly in Northwestern Ontario just by putting VLTs in bars. We would also be keeping the money in Northwestern Ontario,” he argued, referring to the fact people are going to the U.S. or Manitoba to gamble.
Having VLTs not only would keep them from leaving, but attract more tourists to the region.
Stemkoski said he sees VLTs as just another a form of entertainment and sees no reason it should be illegal to have them here, but added he would ensure minors don’t have access to them by placing them only in bars or lounges.
He noted VLTs are means of revenue to bar owners, but they also result in spin-off dollars to hotels, gas stations, restaurants, and other businesses because those who come here to gamble also will spend money outside the bars where the VLTs would be.
Stemkoski, who has been fighting to have VLTs in the region since the mid-1980s, stressed that having VLTs is more important now than ever—stressing they could offset the financial blow he’s certain the hospitality industry will take if the province goes through with a ban on smoking in all enclosed public places in the future.
Stemkoski said he’s hoping regional municipal leaders get on board with the OMRHA and lobby the government to legalize VLTs. He plans to send letters requesting support to all the regional municipalities in the near future.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
