To the editor:
Re: “12th and Cambie: Vision Vancouver gambles with policy,” Nov. 6.
In days of public hearings, the people of Vancouver voiced their concerns about a casino attached to BC Place. PavCo and the Nevada owners trotted out the tired old arguments, but they were countered by the public.
City council listened to the public and unanimously rejected the proposal in April 2011. Vision Vancouver campaigned on this issue in the subsequent civic election.
In January 2013, the Wellesley Institute issued a study of gambling in Ontario The Real Cost of Casinos: A Health Equity Impact Assessment estimating that the annual cost associated with each problem gambler ranges from $20,000 to $56,000.
Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.’s Chief Medical Health Officer, issued a report in October showing the number of problem gamblers in B.C. increased between 2001 and 2007 from 13,000 to 31,000.
Municipalities bear the brunt of these costs, while the B.C. government rakes in about $2 billion from gaming.
Perhaps democratic action killed only one of the snakes on this Hydra-headed monster. PavCo, the Las Vegas masterminds and the Christy Clark government have evidently made Vancouver city council cave in and betray the will of the citizens of Vancouver.
The whole casino scheme is now being approved with no public hearings. The development permit hearing is scheduled in the middle of the Christmas season.
Will Vancouver citizens have the backbone to demand council keep its promise?
Let Heracles be our inspiration. When we said no, we meant no!
Colin Miles,
Vancouver
