Saanich Council Votes Against Casino Plans

After several years of extensive discussions of the casino and hotel project in Saanich, the subject has officially reached the city’s council. Unfortunately, for the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, its proposed plan for the entertainment complex in the area has now been rejected by the city council in this Monday’s meeting.

The Crown corporation has been looking forward to introducing the casino into the area for a few years now, and initial discussions were very promising. The project was first considered for the Victoria region but the plans were rejected by its management and now the Saanich council has also rejected further exploring the project.

Unanimously Declined

As of this Monday, the Saanich council has officially rejected the plan of the Crown corporation to explore the plans for an entertainment complex in the area. Councillor Susan Brice first supported the motion for the Crown agency to conduct more research on the possible casino project and give residents the chance to speak up on the subject. However, she later voted against it.

The vast majority of the councillors have also opted against the motion, and when the official vote took place, the council unanimously rejected the proposal. The councilors stated that they did not believe that the benefits of opening a casino property are greater than the cons such as costs and repercussions of launching such a project in the area.

Coun. Rebecca Mersereau claimed that she has heard from residents that they are not very fond of the idea to launch a casino venue in the municipality. She explained that she could have voted yes regarding the plans, and later seek more consultation with the public, but she stated that that would be disingenuous to the public.

Ms. Merserau concluded by saying that she is alarmed that the potential casino project and its surrounding discussions might cause consuming a lot of municipal staff time and community attention, that should be channeled to the important issues. After the conclusion of the vote, the Mayor of Saanich Fred Haynes stated that the city will inform the Crown about its final decision on the subject for the time being.

Pros and Cons

Prior to the official council vote on the potential casino and hotel complex plans Mayor Haynes has been a big supporter of the initiative. He has stated that the project would bring great benefits to the municipality as the city is looking towards revenue and tax diversification. This would have been a great way to relieve tax pressure from local residents as currently, 78% of the area’s tax comes from its locals.

However, the project has also faced some opposition since it was suggested by the Crown corporation a while back. View Royal Mayor David Screech has opted against the plans, as he believes that the introduction of another casino property in the area could hurt the wellbeing of Elements Casino Victoria. As he stated that it might lead to a self-cannibalization of the industry for the region.

Source: Chan, Adam “Saanich rejects casino and hotel development proposal”, CTV News, May 4, 2021