Presentations against the casino in North Bay are unlikely to change the outcome, fears Coun. Mark King. "I had the discussion with some of the presenters before the meeting to kind of give them a heads up that that's where I see this going," he said late Tuesday.
Added King, "It's good that these people come out and take the time to recognize what's transpiring here. We live in a democracy, and I know that I'm the odd fellow out on this particular issue and I have been for a long period of time."
Interestingly, King believes the casino could go forward without the present Council having much say other than if the City-owned land was to be sold to the proponent. "I'm not so sure that it has to come back to Council," noted King, adding that the approval of the previous Council could be enough to proceed.
Asked if he would be the only dissenting vote after further deliberations on the issue, King explained that he was "pretty sure that at least a majority of Council would support the casino," as indicated by the support for the rezoning requirements for potential casino sites late last year.
King went so far as to say that he was unsure where the casino process was at, saying "the province has announced a proponent, it could be any time that we hear what their plans are in North Bay."
At Tuesday evening's meeting of city council, numerous public presentations were made opposing the establishment of a casino in North Bay. The gallery was nearly filled to capacity with citizens carrying neon yellow pamphlets distributed by No Casino North Bay, a group dedicated to publicizing their message that the benefits of a casino are far outweighed by the potential social costs.
Many of the anti-casino ranks arrived early, during the committee meeting, and left as soon as the public presentations were finished, in the middle of the council meeting. They were vocal in their support for the group's message, and jeered King's notion about the inevitability of the casino being built.
"Stop it now," was the call from the gallery after King's remarks.
Michael Ianino, a local business owner told Council that he met with 70 business owners in North Bay to gauge their sentiments on the opening of a casino. "Nine thought it would be positive. Eighteen didn't have enough information to make a decision. However, 43 out of the 70 were against the casino, feeling it would have a negative impact in our community."
Ianiro did not believe that the assertion that a new casino would be a tourist draw was accurate. "How is this possible? This is not a resort-style facility, nor is it a complex like Casino Rama. These smaller casinos are designed to draw from a 70 kilometre radius."
Rev. Jane Howe spoke about resources from the church to help the disadvantaged being stretched to the limit already, adding that a casino would only exacerbate social issues in the community. Howe suggested a referendum be held so that the citizens of North Bay could have their say on the issue.
It was after Howe's presentation that King asked her, "How will you prepare for what appears to be inevitable?"
Howe replied not just to King, but to all of Council, "Is there any integrity in approving a proposal that the City knows is going to cause harm to its citizens?"
