Global Courant
A First Nation community in Ontario believes Doug Ford’s government dealt it an unfair hand that could threaten its very existence.
The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN), north of Toronto, own the Great Blue Heron Casino.
Speaking with CTV National News, Chief Kelly LaRocca calls the casino “the economic foundation and lifeblood of our community.”
“It has brought us clean drinking water, improved healthcare and education,” she said.
However, Ontario has green-lit multiple new casinos in recent years, and LaRocca believes the Ontario government has breached the terms of a deal the two signed seven years ago.
Although the casino is owned by the First Nation, it is actually operated by Great Canadian Entertainment (GCE) and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG).
In 2016, the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation signed a revenue sharing agreement with the Ontario government stating in part, “The province and the First Nation intend that the Great Blue Heron will continue to operate and be commercially viable.”
Since signing that deal, the GCE and OLG have opened a new casino in Pickering, Ontario, in 2021, and another in nearby Ajax.
This week, with the opening of the Great Canadian casino resort in Toronto.
The casino spans 33 acres and shares grounds with Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack, making it one of the largest privately owned developments in the country.
Speaking to CTV National News just hours before the venue opened to the public, GCE Vice President Chuck Keeling proudly proclaimed, “This will be the largest casino resort in the country.”
The sprawling space features 145 table games, 4,800 slot machines, 10 restaurants, and a soon-to-open hotel and concert hall.
All of these offerings have led some Indigenous communities that also operate casinos to believe that the deck is stacked against them.
In doing so, LaRocca believes the Ontario government has violated the terms of their deal.
“The Ford government has broken its word to our community. It hurts a lot of Indigenous people and we will have to address the problem and fight against the cannibalization of gaming.”
She told CTV National News that she believes the proliferation of mega-casinos in her region poses “an existential threat” to the future of her community.
However, Keeling says GCE disagrees with the chief’s assessment, which he believes does not give the full picture.
“We absolutely understand and respect the chief’s position on this. All we can say is that we are trying to show our commitment to that property by investing tens of millions of dollars,” he told CTV National News.
In a statement to CTV National News, the OLG noted that during the expansion process of the Woodbine Casino site, now called the Great Canadian Casino Resort, the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation are subject to “ongoing discussions between OLG and its partners, including existing Indigenous host communities.”
LaRocca says the opening of the nation’s largest casino in Toronto has created an uneven playing field.
She claims that part of her First Nation’s agreement with the Ford government was that “The Great Blue Heron would be protected and have a conservation area around it, where no new game could grow and that promise has been broken by the opening of the casino. in Pickering.”
Scott Blodgett, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Finance, denied any such deal had been made with LaRocca, stating in an email that “the province has no agreement not to open any more brick-and-mortar casinos. Agreement with MSIFN with regarding the Great Blue Heron Casino.”
The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation will enter into mediation with the province of Ontario, and LaRocca says she is willing to take legal action against the Ford government if her community is not satisfied with the outcome.
