The City of North Vancouver is certainly going to raise some eyebrows by opening up the debate over whether to allow for-profit gambling after banning it nearly 20 years ago.
Council’s policy committee will meet sometime in the future to study and debate the matter in detail.
Opponents at the council table attempted to shoot the plan down on the grounds that there simply wasn’t enough public demand for gaming on the North Shore to consider changing the rules.
That might be true, but we say have the discussion.
Consult the public. Listen to what the experts have to say. That’s how good policy gets made.
The discussion needs to be framed around the millions in revenue it could mean for city taxpayers and the community groups that rely for gaming grants as well as the capacity gambling has to ruin lives.
Is easy money worth the social ills it breeds?
It’s also worth noting that this issue only came up because Playtime Gaming, which was a generous campaign donor to the mayor and his council allies, is hoping to put upwards of 300 slot machines on the redesigned Shipyards. Even if the city opts to allow the one-armed bandits back in town, it’s still another matter convincing the public they would be suitable for the waterfront.
And council has a gamble on its hands here. There’s nothing stopping Playtime from making their pitch to the District of North Vancouver, District of West Vancouver or either of North Shore’s First Nations.
