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OLG Toronto/GTA casino proposal (where to put it?)

Well there is going to be a referendum on this, so we'll let the residents of Toronto decide on whether or not a casino is a good idea. I'm all for that! The last time the people (70%) dissaproved, so we'll see if that has changed sunce 97. If Torontonians decide Nay, I'm sure a surrounding Municipality like say Sauga or Scarborough will step up. There has already been rumours that Ms.Mcallion may be interested. I wouldn't put it past the Savvy Lass to get it done and surprise everyone! Most of all the residents of Toronto who would be double wammied with no revenue and no draw from the scores that would be visiting each year. Right in our backyard and nothing to show doesn't make a whole lotta sense either.
 
^That's kind of my point. I guarantee 100% that in a referendum the population of Toronto will reject the casino. Also, the whole excercise is useless if a place like Hamilton or K-W or Oshawa accept a casino proposal because these options don't fulfill OLG's desire to boost per capital returns. In other words the casino will be going to Mississauga or York region guaranteed. From a strategic perspective that outcome is useless to Toronto. We get no benefit and some of the negative impact. From a strategic perspective this outcome renders arguments that are neutral or slightly disfavourable to casinos irrelevent. Even if you believe casinos are neutral or slightly disfavourable to the surrounding area it still makes more sense from Toronto's perspective to place the facility at Woodbine than at Vaughan corporate centre or Airport road.

From a strategic position if I were Ford I would come out against a referendum (sure casino defeat) but also against a downtown casino (throw moderate and downtown councillors a bone). I would fight for a Woodbine Casino (jobs and growth agenda for a low-income area even if it isn't true) and mandate that all casino revenue flowing to the municipality (5% of revenues or whatever) go to fund mass transit or subways or whatever. Of course Ford is an idiot so he will probably fight for the referendum. P.S. don't mistake my hypothetical suggestion to Ford with what I personally believe to be the desireable outcome.
 
^^ I don't get it...why would you oppose a vote, a democratic institution? Or you don't have faith in people or you'd rather put the decision to one or a few?
 
Cost (what, $7 million is the quoted figure for referenda) is a very good reason to be against the idea, for something that ultimately has so little overall impact to the city.

AoD
 
^^ If it has so little impact, why all the fuss then? You can't have it both ways to suit your arguements...previosly you have stated that a casino could have a big impact and now it won't???
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Cost (what, $7 million is the quoted figure for referenda) is a very good reason to be against the idea, for something that ultimately has so little overall impact to the city.

AoD
Click to expand...

Plus, the province is going to foot the bill for the referendum, not the city.
 
MadMax:

Having just reviewed my previous postings, I don't believe I said anything about casinos having a huge impact either way - I said that it will have positive and negative impacts that will have to be scrutinized. Besides, I just don't think it is a good way to spend $7 million (by any level of government) when our elected officials are the ones tasked for this kind of a job.

AoD
 
MadMax said:
Plus, the province is going to foot the bill for the referendum, not the city.
Click to expand...

Leaving aside the fact that the province and the city both get their money to pay bills from the same place (i.e.; us), the province has actually explicity stated that they refuse to foot the bill.
 
RE: the province not paying for the vote

This is exactly how it should be. The Province has said they want to locate a casino in the GTA. One of the municipalities within that area has said that they want/need a referendum to determine if they would allow it in their city. So they should pay for referendum. If the province had said, "we will only locate our casino in a municipality that had a referendum first" then I could see putting the cost of such vote on the entire provincial taxpayer but not the way it is now.
 
A referendum for this or the subway is completely illogical.

Why you ask: Because the majority of the population are not intelligent or just plain stupid ? Probably but let's not jump to that, the majority of the population is ignorant toward all the issues at play.

Take the casino, the crime / property value / long term health care impact / increased revenue ... hence why there are people who are paid quite a bit to decide if potential gain outweigh the costs.

The subway vs LRT is actually 10X worse ... that amounts to asking if you'd like a Ferrari or a civic where the monetary impact isn't clear i.e. to you, the cost is irrelevant, likely due to your ignorance. The opportunity cost is also completely lost on the average folk i.e. what are we losing out on by choosing a subway.

Moreover in this case, again, there are people paid a lot of money to forecast potential future ridership / development possibilities.


Referendums are generally always politically motivated; And the motivation isn't getting an answer to a question.
 
Here's an idea Place the casino along the route of the proposed Downtown Relief Line. What better way to get the line built? Link a referendum on the Casino with a location for the DRL where there is a win for everyone involved...Even Ford.

I've suggested a possible location below but to be honest I don't know what's housed in the building there. It is not really part of the neighbourhood surrounding it being bordered by the DVP, the Gardiner, the train tracks and industrial. This location can hook up to Go lines from Richmond Hill and the East. Close to lots of develop-able land in the Port Lands, Ford can put the push on for some quick action by developers in the area. Maybe this could be the impetus for re-purposing the Hearn into a sports/entertainment facility.

7069101689_78f3db43b4_z.jpg
 
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It was just a suggestion. I forgot about the plans for this site. 28.5 acres...they could squeeze it in.

Is there another site in the east branch of the DRL rout where this could work?
 
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