Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
The long-suffering saga of gaming and casinos for Westman has taken another turn this week.
A turn many thought would be the case when the proposed Spirit Sands project was announced years ago in the now infamous ground-breaking ceremony.
At the time the provincial government touted it as the opportunity for the future and a partnership with First Nations groups as a method of economic stability and co-operation.
Fast forward a couple years and as reported in the Sun this past week the Spirit Sands project is facing some significant hurdles, most notably infrastructure and hydro requirements as well as the lack of a contractor to begin the work. Both large obstacles, both necessary and both rumoured to be years to see completion.
On the Brandon side the province has reiterated its hardline approach to gaming in the Wheat City by stating the provincial "gaming centre" option is a no go for us. This as they say, is an entity unique to Winnipeg only, namely downtown Winnipeg. A model they see as a vehicle to continue downtown revitalization, a complex part of a group of strategies put in place to make downtown Winnipeg an all inclusive attraction with sports, entertainment, shopping and residential.
My question to the government is one I have posed in previous columns and one that continues to rear its head unnecessarily is why this is not an option for Brandon?
Members within government have not given any concrete answers to our civic leaders other than it is a unique case within the city of Winnipeg.
A case dating back to an agreement the province had with True North Sports and Entertainment to install a "gaming centre" in downtown Winnipeg with the operations of such being handled by the province, True North and the staff within the centre.
Further to this point the province reiterates the sole gaming options for our region are in the control of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, with the coveted handful of licenses being, as it would appear at the discretion of this entity.
There is no hiding the fact that there has been both supporters and naysayers with regards to the casino, sorry "gaming centre" question in Brandon but it is becoming increasingly disconcerting that the options available to one centre are not the options available to another.
The government is creating some real headaches for itself unnecessarily and when confronted with possible opportunities in its second largest city it is flat out denying the chance to enter into a discussion?
This stance has other parties, namely the Tories, crying foul and sadly for a government like the NDP that has had some real successes over the years in the province, this question is playing into the opposition’s hands.
The Spirit Sands option, long touted as the choice du jour amongst the gaming community, is almost guaranteeing itself that it will not be open for late 2013 or for that matter ever. A point missed in round two of the press opportunity.
The hands that once rapped hard on the door looking for a provincially run gaming centre casino in Brandon is again being stymied.
Further to that, a member of the Opposition, who coincidentally enough represents the constituency that Spirit Sands would inhabit, is questioning the government and its logic behind the Spirit Sands project and studies that drew the project there.
The level of frustration in accessing information through either the province or AMC and the flat out "no" answers through provincial channels have many in the pro casino camp shaking their heads.
Furthermore, the feasibility study many continue to reference throughout the debate should at least be revisited to see where some opportunities lie.
If the province or AMC is not committed to coming full out and admitting Brandon poses the strongest case, then at least humour the locals by revisiting the study.
If at that point the numbers still state a stretch of un-serviced land on a rough patch of provincial highway is the best spot, then so be it. At that point, for all intents and purposes the concept would be dead to Brandon and the long lingering "what if" would be answered.
I do not profess to know the logic behind the hardline approach to opportunity at this level.
I merely would like to once again ask, like I have in previous columns, why this isn’t an option we here in Brandon can explore? The community is here as is the opportunity to couple a venture like that into a larger revitalization goal for our own city.
The casino debate surely keeps the phones ringing on Broadway in Winnipeg, the question remains though, with the latest development of the ill fated Spirit Sands project, is anyone willing to pick up?
» Shaun Cameron is a lifelong Brandon resident. He has dabbled in politics and is now chair of Renaissance Brandon, the city’s downtown development corporation. His column appears regularly.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition March 9, 2013
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The long-suffering saga of gaming and casinos for Westman has taken another turn this week.
A turn many thought would be the case when the proposed Spirit Sands project was announced years ago in the now infamous ground-breaking ceremony.
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The long-suffering saga of gaming and casinos for Westman has taken another turn this week.
A turn many thought would be the case when the proposed Spirit Sands project was announced years ago in the now infamous ground-breaking ceremony.
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Posted by:Bandb
March 9, 2013 at 12:13 PM
It's nice to see that the flogging of a dead horse has continued unabated in the Brandon Sun.