OLG chair Godfrey clarifies downtown casino comment
Posted January 9, 2013 8:45 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) is defending statements he made about the location of a potential Toronto casino after being criticized by downtown city councillor Adam Vaughan.
During a speech Tuesday to the National Club, OLG chair Paul Godfrey admitted he wouldn’t want to live near a casino, but said a facility would fit well in downtown Toronto because it’s not a residential area.
The National Post published Godfrey’s comment, which drew a quick response from Vaughan, who represents the downtown ward of Trinity-Spadina.
The councillor fired off a missive Tuesday afternoon, reminding Godfrey that “thousands of people live in downtown Toronto and are also concerned about the traffic, parking and economic impacts that a casino would bring to their neighbourhoods.”
Vaughan wasn’t present for Godfrey’s speech. The OLG chair said his comments were taken out of context.
“Perhaps my definition of a residential neighbourhood is different,” Godfrey said in a statement after the speech.
“I wouldn’t put a sports stadium like the ACC [Air Canada Centre] in the middle of homes in Swansea or strike up a sky-scraping hotel on the Danforth. But those things fit well in a vibrant downtown and are accepted by the people that choose to live there.”
Godfrey’s clarification comes as the city kicks off public consultations on a potential Toronto casino. Vaughan has called for a referendum on the issue, tied to the next municipal election.
Details on the casino consultations.
A GTA casino is part of the OLG’s plan to revitalize the provincial agency, first outlined last March.
Since then, several locations have been floated as a potential casino site. Ontario Place, once at the forefront of the casino talk, was ruled out by the province last summer. Exhibition Place and the Port Lands are the spots preferred by Mayor Rob Ford.
Oxford Properties Group, the real estate arm of the OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) pension fund, announced in October it wanted to expand the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, by adding new retail, a hotel and office space, and, a casino.
