UNITE HERE, the union representing North American casino workers, recently received a bill for more than $500,000 from the British Columbia Lottery Corporation for requesting records about anti-money laundering activities at casinos. Unite Here researcher Marc Hollin said the union requested, under B.C.’s freedom of information laws, “copies of all correspondence, reports, investigations, audits and complaints regarding anti-money laundering compliance of Great Canadian Gaming Corporation locations,” including River Rock Casino, Casino Nanaimo, Hard Rock Casino and Hastings Park, from November 2012 to November 2017. The request also included all correspondence regarding anti-money laundering compliance between Great Canadian Gaming, BCLC and B.C.’s gaming policy enforcement branch.
Hollin said BCLC responded that freedom of information law allows a public body to “charge a fee for certain limited costs of providing the requested information.” The fee charged by BLCL was $504,510, including 16,817 hours of document searching at $30 per hour. “In order to proceed with your request, BCLC requires a $252,240 deposit,” the response stated.
Hollin said, “I was absolutely flabbergasted. My first instinct was this is prohibitively high. And I felt like it was a deterrent to accessing information.” He noted UNITE HERE is trying to work with Great Canadian Gaming, which received contracts to expand casino operations at Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack and other locations in 2017, to establish community benefits such as good local jobs to balance any potential negatives caused by new casinos.
Hollin said UNITE HERE requested the information from BCLC due to Postmedia reports on alleged international organized crime networks laundering money through B.C. casinos. “We want the public to have as much information as possible because this is such an important issue, and there is so much public money at stake that goes to the provincial government from casinos. We feel we have a right to know as much as we can, in the interest of transparency and accountability,” Hollin said.
He added UNITE HERE requested that BCLC to waive the half-million-dollar fee, and stated if it’s refused, the union will appeal to B.C.’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
Ontario’s opposition has called on the government to temporarily delay the deal with Great Canadian until an independent review of alleged money laundering activities in B.C. casinos is completed.
