Mayor of Toronto supports opening a casino
January 15, 2013
Toronto government officials asked the public to gather for a session to talk about the possibility of bringing a casino to the Canadian city. The event brought 200 residents to the three-hour discussion at the Etobicoke Olympium, according to The Globe and Mail. One of those who attended was Mayor Rob Ford, who has been openly supporting the idea of building a casino in Toronto, as he believes it will bring a great deal of jobs and boost the economy.
"I've been very clear. If we can create 10,000 or more good-paying, union jobs and bring in revenue of $200-million, which they're projecting, I just don't see how people can say no to that," Ford told the news source. "That's great in so many ways."
However, there are a number of people who are adamantly against having a casino in Toronto. One resident did not get the opportunity to speak to whole group, but he did talk to reporters after about what he would have said. Dennis Hassell, a 54-year-old script writer, used a "Star Wars" metaphor to make it clear to people, according to the Toronto Star.
"I wanted to show anybody that's concerned about it that a little bit of visual metaphor is much stronger than giving people paper,"Hassell told the news source. "It's like the Death Star. It creates jobs, it creates money, but at what cost?"
This was just the third of five sessions, and in the last two residents and officialswill continue to discuss the possibility of opening the new casino. Even though the mayor is up for it, the public will have to agree in order for it to become a reality.
Those who want to add their own opinions can make calls to Canada using international calling cards.