Mayor under fire over Rideau-Carleton casino endorsement
Posted Jun 6, 2013 06:13:23 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Mayor Jim Watson was under fire on Tuesday, for waiting to single out the Rideau Carleton Raceway as the only possible location for a new casino in the capital.
Watson officially notified the Finance and Economic Development Committee, Tuesday, that he has changed his mind and wants to restrict the bidding process.
“There was a very high risk that Rideau Carleton would not win the bid and they would be out of it all together,” Watson told reporters, after committee.
Watson says he thought the OLG would let Rideau Carleton Raceway operate as a “satellite” operation, if a different site for a casino was selected.
But when the OLG told him that wasn’t an option, Watson says he changed his mind to protect the Raceway.
The mayor faced a barriage of tough questions from columnists, who wanted to know why he waited until now to try and save the Raceway’s future.
Watson responded that he has always had the Raceway’s best interest in mind, especially when he asked the OLG to give it “special consideration” as a potential operator.
When one reporter called the resolution a “suggestion,” Watson fired back.
“We’re going to disagree on that, ” he said. “I think what we’re trying to do … is make sure that there is a role for RCR and the only way I felt comfortable that we could … guarantee that at this stage was to limit the site.”
Watson’s motion will be tabled at the Finance and Economic Development Committee in July.
