Two members of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Sudbury in Ontario, Canada, former chairs Andre Dumais and Vicki Jacobs, recently announced they will quit the group to protest its board’s support of a full casino in Sudbury, part of the arena/event center and hotel to be built on the Kingsway.
Chamber Chairman Michael McNamara said the chamber created a task force in 2012-2013 to study the casino issue after the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced modernization plans to build full casinos in gaming zones across the province. The task force “had no agenda but research confirmed that a casino would be a benefit the local economy,” McNamara said. Therefore the chamber gave its support, as long as the venue would be a full casino and would be developed along with an events center or arena.
Last spring, the city council voted to build a new $80-$100 million arena/events center off the Kingsway. Gateway Casinos then announced it will build its full casino on the property, and a hotel chain also has committed to build there.
Businessman Tom Fortin, with the support of Dumais and Jacobs and 200 local businesses, announced they will oppose the casino. Jacobs, owner of Copy Copy downtown, said, “Casinos are still bad for business and they’re still bad socially. There’s is no upside, to me, in having expanded gaming in Sudbury. It’s not economic development, it sucks money out of the community, it’s bad for business.”
Jacobs added she was disappointed the chamber did not support building the arena downtown. “These two issues, to me, are game-changing for the city of Sudbury. And game-changing for local businesses. And I cannot, in good conscience, support either of these directions. I’m very much against expanded gaming in Sudbury, and moving the arena/events center out of the core and into the outskirts, where nothing else exists, is bad for business.”
McNamara said he doesn’t anticipate further resignations. He stated chamber members hold many views and all are free to express themselves at meetings. But once a decision is taken, it’s important to present a united voice to the public, he said. “It’s not our intention to restrict people’s opinion or ability to express themselves. We’re not trying to silence anyone,” McNamara said.
