As you may know by now there are major changes to our scheduling in the new year. Tellers are being greatly reduced at Woodbine, Mohawk’s Racebook, and Greenwood. Along with Woodbine’s intentions to open up new teletheatres that are tellerless this will create less and less work for us.
These certainly are major challenges for us all. Recently I have sent emails to our MPPs to ask for accountability of the slot-profits that are being given to the Ontario track operators. These profits are to rebuild the Horse racing industry in Ontario and to provide good paying jobs with benefits to the communities that host these slot casinos. As far as we can see they are not living up to this obligation and are only reducing the numbers of good paying jobs at Ontario racetracks.
I urge you all to contact your local MPPs, and your local city politicians. Ask them why good paying jobs are being reduced at the tracks that receive ‘slot profits’. The original slot agreements call for ensuring there is an economic benefit to Ontario. Providing good paying jobs with benefits is an economic benefit. Together with a concerted effort we can get the attention of the powers to be to get things done.
Following is the email that was sent:
Good Day to all.
I would like to offer the question: What benchmarks are in place to justify the large amounts of slot profits that are directed to the Ontario Horse Racing Industry that show the accountability for this money to ensure they are benefiting the Ontario taxpayer as intended?
Or are the taxpayers just going to go on bailing out a failing industry that do not seem to be able to manage the millions they receive annually responsibly.
The Ontario Lottery Corporation is a Government Corporation that should be accountable for all of their profits which belong to the taxpayers of Ontario.
“Through the Slots At Racetracks Program, the government partners and invests in horseracing. As a “customer” of horseracing, the government receives the benefits of extensive economic inputs through employment, taxes and other direct and indirect means”. ONTARIO HORSE RACING– Back On Track – August 2010.
Through the recent years there have been studies and reports done to address the decline in the Ontario Horse Racing Industry. The players that are affected by the decline of the industry are: the breeders, the owners, the racetrack operators, the employees that are employed in all sectors of the industry and the Government through less tax revenues. The industry has continually lobbied the government for lower taxes, lower take outs and now to share in the slot profits.
My question is: how are the slot profits that are being shared with the Ontario horse racing industry be audited to ensure they are providing the intended “extensive economic inputs through employment, taxes and other direct and indirect means?”
Currently, since the beginning of this program, subsidizes have amounted to billions of dollars to the hosting racetracks to turn around the horse racing industry in Ontario.
What are the benchmarks to justify this extravagant bailout?
Currently, track operators are requesting less dates to run the races.
Currently, track operators are reducing good paying jobs with benefits and replacing a few of them with precarious type jobs. This does not create a lasting benefit to the government or the industry.
Currently, track operators are simulcasting more races from foreign countries than Ontario tracks. Thereby, diverting monies away from the Ontario industry.
Currently, track operators are bringing in new betting technologies which has a double negative effect on their slot mandate. 1) they eliminate good paying jobs, and 2) there also has been a decline of ‘live attendance’ at the tracks which is one of the provisions of their mandate for receiving the slot profits.
Currently, another requirement of these ‘monies’ is to increase the purse structures to encourage new owners. Currently, the new levels of purses have profited the rich successful owners such as Frank Stronach and Eugene Melnyk. This does not benefit the Ontario horse breeders and the Ontario racing industry as both these owners live elsewhere.
Has the increase benefited the Ontario Breeders? Are there benchmarks to determine this?
Currently, if the track operators were not receiving these slot profits the majority of the tracks would be out of business since they do not have a business model that shows they can turn a profit.
Are the taxpayers to continue with this bailout? Or will the Government force these operators to enforce proper use of these profits by improving the industry and supply and maintain good paying jobs with benefits as promised?
Sincerely
Robert Ciprick
Ontario taxpayer
President CAW Local 2007
