A vote “NO” on the March 12th Brandon Casino plebiscite is not a vote against Brandon. It isn’t a vote against economic development. And it isn’t a vote against natives. Contrary to what some community “leaders” have indicated or inferred, a “No” vote is anything but any of those things. People can comfortably vote “No” in the plebiscite and Brandon will continue to thrive as a community just as it has since it voted “No” in the last casino plebiscite.
A recent newspaper endorsement page indicated that Brandon would lose its seat at the table for casino and convention hotel development. That statement is false. There is nothing preventing an entertainment and convention hotel being developed right now in the City of Brandon. Canad Inns was developed in the absence of a plebiscite and is benefiting the city.
This same page indicated that this “destination attraction” located in the City of Brandon would have all benefits coming directly to our community. That statement too is laced with falsehoods. A similar or identical attraction developed in communities like Souris, Neepawa, Minnedosa, Carberry, or Virden would most definitely benefit Brandon as well. Every single Brandon City Mayor, Member of Parliament, and Brandon MLA have unequivocally stated over the last 20 years that Brandon’s prosperity is most directly tied to the prosperity of rural Manitoba. If rural Manitoba dies, Brandon dies. So any suggestion that a destination attraction in the rural region wouldn’t directly benefit Brandon would simply be lying.
The endorsements included those from Premier Gary Doer and even from an Order of Canada recipient. Statements made by both men were misleading in the least or false in the extreme. Both referred to a casino being developed in “downtown Brandon”. What both failed to mention, in any public communications, is that the location of any casino development is strictly dependent on negotiations with the First Nations group responsible for the development. If they don’t want to build in downtown Brandon, they won’t. And they can’t be forced to do so…ever.
A study conducted by the Province of Manitoba concluded, prior to Brandon’s last casino plebiscite, that further provincial gambling development be done by First Nations. The same study urges that such gambling projects be built on “urban reserves”. Even though the March 12th plebiscite doesn’t suggest an urban reserve, and even though one doesn’t have to be declared right away, any land sold to the First Nations group will, in fact, be converted to urban reserve status within 3-4 years. This is the same urban reserve status that protects the Tsu Tsina First Nation Casino in Calgary from abiding by provincial smoking laws (it is the only smoke-filled public building in Southern Alberta). And this is the same status that protects the nation when it chooses to develop other projects on the same land, to directly compete against tax-paying enterprises selling the same goods and services.
But opposition to a Brandon casino isn’t about distrust of First Nations. Ultimately, it should be about distrust of Brandon City Council and development groups like Brandon Chamber of Commerce and Brandon and District Labour Council. These are the same groups, either individually or collectively, who have repeatedly failed to provide necessary guidance and leadership on recent Public Safety building construction. The City of Brandon votes on using a parcel of land prior to actually owning it. Labour groups lobby against constructing a fire hall on a busy street (but with no alternative). The City of Brandon is the only city of its size in North America that takes 10 years to build a fire hall. In the last 10 years, the City of Calgary has built 5 new halls (each taking a week of voting after engineering studies have been considered).
The City of Brandon is expected to “negotiate” with First Nations on new casino development. But it can’t negotiate a fire hall, let alone a casino. The City of Caledonia (www.caledoniawakeupcall.com) has been under siege by Six Nations since February 2006. Sympathetic nations in Manitoba have threatened Canadians with rail blockages in the province if the Federal Government intervenes. I think it would be a big error in judgment to believe that the City of Brandon has the academic and political capacity to stomach such negotiations and they certainly can’t be trusted to take the necessary course of action when reviewing the fine print of a race-based business plan.
Respectfully,
D’Arcy E. Barker, B.Sc., REBC
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