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[3 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Mills explains proposed gaming facility To the Editor: On Friday, May 27,1994, a meeting was held at the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation Community Centre. Thosofpresent were. Chief Gary Edgar,"John Chalmers Project Consultant, representatives from the Ministry of Consumer & Commercial Relations, Alex Shepherd, M.P., Durham Regional Police Chief Trevor McCagherty, the Mayor of Scugog Township, Mr. Howard Hall, Mr. Ken Gagsden, Municipal Councillor, the representative on council for Scugtg Island residents, support staff from the offices of the MP and MPP, and Miswossngas Coucillors. ti living on Scugog Island as soon as possible , in order that all concerned fully understand what . has occurred and the process invol The Facts: The M of halls to large hotels and even the CN.E. / In 1991, the federal government delegated to 'the provincial governments the responsibility of ing li d to the Scugog Island First Nation have an inherent right to govern themselves. Which means, they are a government representing their people and a government responsible for the use of their lands. As such, they are not required to submit any plans for buildings they plan to erect on their lands or any development they may contemplate on their lands, to any other level of First Nations. As a result of this decision an application was made by The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation to the Ministry of Consumer & Commercial Relations to obtain a license to conduct bingo and Monte Carlo in their community. Relations has a local disput tive) on the resolution process in place to deal with such a situation. Claims have been made that the operation of a bingo and Monte Carlo facility by the local First Nation community would attract "crime, drugs, the "wrong people" of et-al, and result in the i Board. Toe basin of the Board will also undergo a police background check. LT ! No person will serve on the *Board with a criminal record. The Foundation will be. in charge of the Allocation of funds to ritable or ions, and the local taxes. The local First Nation have always paid for: «Il the municipal se hey &eceive, and there any logical reason to hel ve that this will not This license is now in the process continue, of being issued. The criteria forthe issue of such a lice as no authority whatsoever over the xhri including the local The and chaired by Gord Mills MPP Durham East. The meeting commenced at about 3pm and concluded at about 6pm. The Chair Gord Mills spoke to some gathered residents outside of the Community Centre prior to the start of the meeting. T.V.~and media present, together with those residents in attendance, were advised-that the meeting was restricted to those invited to "attend, and that he would provide "= a summary of the substance of the discussion to the press in order that it be given the widest publication possible. Further, Gord Mills intends to write to everyone The Ministry of Consumer &. Commercial Relations is thé authority in Ontario re§perisible for issuing: Charitable gaming licenses, This Authority to issue ' license# is in turn given to local municipalities, and the Clerk of the municipalities, upon application from charitable organizations issues these licenses to allow bingo and Monte Carlo games to be conducted. Every week, across the province hundreds of these licenses are issued to charitable organization «who conduct the bingo or Monte Carlo in various types of locations ranging from local community or, size of buildi how much-traffic such a function may. create, police and security arrangements, or if food or alcohol will we served, in the privte sector or on First Nations Lands. The licensing criteria does take into account the effect of the The Durham Regional Police have provided policing on their lands for the past twenty years ' without incident. This is to continue. Although not a requirement, no person will be employed at their gaming facility who has not passed a police check. No person will be employed who has a criminal record. Like any other enterprise charitable izati operating in the area of | the new licence application. Present data of the area show that about 153 people engage in playing bingo in the Port Perry area twice weekly. If the planned facility on First Native lands impacts upon the viability of the other local operation, the Ministry of Consumer & Commercial dditional police, such as for traffic control, the local First Nations will pay for this " themselves. Security within the facility will be permanent staff. Prior to the start of operations, the Scugog Island First Nation Charitable Gaming Facility will blish a Trust Foundation. This local hospital, library and such, upon their application. In summary, the meeting revealed a willingness on the part of the Scugog First Nations to work with the community to iron out any problems that may arise from a new venture. For instance - Will the increased traffic to the facility demand a turning lane be provided? Will there be a need for a traffic signal on Highway 7A and Scugog Island Road? None of these things can be pre- determined. What has to be understood, is that there isn't any requirement by the Scugog First Nations to consult with anyone, including the local municipal government, over the building of their gaming facility. The fact that they have chosen to share their revenues from the gaming facility with the community at large, speaks Foundation will include three prominent local members of the [) of their desite to work with everyone. * Gord Mills MPP, Durham East i Gaming facility means jobs: Edgar To the Editor; re: Charitable Gaming on the Scugog First Nation When the NDP were elected to tun the Province of Ontario, a part of their mandate on Native issues was the SPR (Statement of Political Relationships) which recognizes our inherent right to govern ourselves and promises to deal with First Nations on government to government basis. Gaming, (including gaming on First Nations) had been delegated to the Provinces by the Federal Government. Charitable gaming (including Bingo and Monte Carlo events such as Blackjack, Wheels of Fortune and Keno) was put on the table because there was illegal gaming going on in the Province, some of it on First Nations terri I must qualify this letter by saying that I write this explanation as a courtesy to the non-native people of Scugog; certainly not because it is a mandatory requirement. Our people have been left out of consultation of any kind throughout this region, yet we are expected to consult with and justify to anyone who, sees fit to criticize our efforts, The Government was looking for a First Nation to work with in developing a properly regulated charitable gaming regime. The Mississauga's of Scugog ,Island, after consultation ~~ with our community members, opted to accept this opportunity. It was a risk on our part since we were the initial First Nation to sign a document to work out an agreement with the Province for the operation of a "Charitable Gaming Facility". It required a complete commitment us if negotiations to be by were successful. 'We chose this type of "gaming" as an economic development initiative for many reasons important to us. These are some of the reasons: 1. Geographically we are the closest First Nation to the large market in south central Ontario and needed a project to take advantage of this situation. 2. We are presently land- locked on an island (no waterfront), thus we have few options available for economic development. 3. None of our people wanted to bring a full-scale casino to our territory, although we had several offers from American companies to do so. We also felt that a Charitable Gaming Facility would be much more More people earning wages means more dollars spent throughout the region. It will Cangdians are not seen in this light. Churches run bingos and there are many charitable benefit both businesses and = events that benefit other groups. individuals from 'the Why are we not seen to be surrounding areas. helping ourselves (the 7. The charitable org sur di ity as well) of Scygog Township who choose and getting away from to do so, will benefit from the profits of this initiative as well as the First Nation. We are committed to sharing with and supporting the 'entire community. 8. This gives the Mississauga's of Scugog Island opportunities for: a) jobs and the develop t of depending solely on Federal transfer payments for everything we do? Self government means making our the media almost a year ago. 1 think I havg explained how we have tried to do something that benefits all who reside in Scugog Township (ie, jobs, dollars for the hospital, library, sports and recreation, charitable groups, etc) , but I also. wish to convey the fact that First Nations have plans and visions _ for the future that sometimes are not acceptable to certain own d and b ing self-sufficient. Our project these issues. This project is being well planned in conjunction with the > a ie other small businesses b) housing for our 120 members de) funding for, education, elders, youth activities, etc. widely pted by the g 1 public. 4. We wanted our gaming hall * to be essentially a bingo facility, with Monte Carlo events (these d) blishing a from which to obtain self- sufficiency. ©) many other initiatives. We have worked on our: are run throughout the Province = agreement for almost a year now * every day of the week) on the as mentioned in our local papers weekends only. in September 1993. The 5. We wanted an initi that d t is satisfactory to both was on-gide with the Province in parties in this historic terms of how it is regulated. (This is where some other First Nations have balked at this government to government negotiation. We look forward to building our facility this and early fall and we opportunity, ially they feel they can "ude ithe sovereignty issue and set up hope to open by late fall. We know that there is some For example, we _do not expect However, we have the right to do as we see fit on our own territories through consultation with our own membership. This project was 100% approved by the Mississauga's of Scugog traffic to be little.more than Island First Nation community. what we are used to, on the It has also received the Island with the trailer plet pport of both the parks, and dance halls. Federal and Provincial Security-wise, the facility wn governments. have its security, component and We urge you to work with us to Chief McCagherty of the Durham Regional Police assures us that his officers will, as usual, do their job throughout Durham Region. 4 Market studies show that Bingo players are \women of all ages and increasingly, married couples. For Monte Carlo, the majority of player§ are two or more couples who choose gaming as a weekend outing, We are not .going to attract "upderworld" characters. This is a fo Hey anda their gaming without any opposition due mainly to a lack misleading one at thag. governmental interference.) of understanding and knowledge Finally, we know that Our community wants a regarding this project. It is anything we do as Native people facility that is what we believe - unfortunate that a headline in will have to be done "better to be properly regulated, an Oshawa paper caused a great than" in order to be accepted. including regulation in such deal of confusion and set off the ~~ This project has been crucial areas as ity, prize ident "opposer" ( the library, explained in more detail to local tables, betting limits, the arena, the hospital addin, gov nt officials (Municipal ployees, etc. (For ple, all our Provincial, Federal) at a employees must pass a store, ete. all.of which are pe meeting on the First Nation on Provincial Government security tional and pted by the afu of Friday, May 27. check and have no criminal most). This letter is an attempt to record). a While others are congratulated briefly explain' the project and 6. This facility will provide jobs when they. are seen to do let the public know this is for both native and non-native something to benefit themselves, happening now, even though it people in Scugog Township. one must wonder why Native was mentioned by me through ¥ > make this a successful venture and we acknowledge and-~ appreciate the support we been given not only within: Scugog- Township . but throughout the Durham Region. Our First Nation Government hard to and staff have worked over the past year in Fi 54 improve opportunities for our ': people. One of these opportunities is to be this beautiful new facility where people can relax and enjoy themselves and where they will want to return for games of chance. See your there! PRS Chief Edgar P.S. there are 14 First Nations' in the Province of Ontario currently competing for a Native; Casino, similar to the Windsor operation. The. Scugog First 'yNation is not on this list. We understand there has been some confusion surropadiag this . issue. vi