The adoption of a parliamentary maneuver that’s obscure to the general public means a sports betting bill been before Canada’s parliament will be delayed.
The maneuver, called by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is called proroguing and it is basically a parliamentary reset, with all bills having to start almost from scratch when the parliament returns to its session on September 23.
A supporter of the sports betting bill, Member of Parliament (MP) Brian Masse, who was joined by union leaders in Windsor, Ontario, declared, “We were promised in this past election that sports betting … would be an easy one to get done and here we are a year later, more problems, more delays.” Masse represents Windsor.
MP Kevin Waugh had introduced Bill C-218 (‘The Safe & Regulated Sports Act’) and was waiting for its second reading. Waugh argues that the bill, which would allow single sports bets, would have helped deflate the black market in sports wagers. It would also give a boost to commercial casinos that have been closed by Covid by allowing them to take remote wagers, he says. “It’s a great example though of how we continue to miss opportunities.”
This is the third time such a bill has been introduced to create a federal framework for single sports betting.
Union leaders from Unifor 444, which represents casino workers, pointed out that the second largest employer in the City of Windsor is Caesars Windsor. Currently it is closed because under Stage 3 reopening, it is only allowed to have 50 people indoors at any time.
