Council defers vote on SIGA casino

Page 1

Municipal councillors in Saskatoon will wait until spring before asking residents if they support a new casino development in the city.

Last fall, the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) said it wanted to build a 50,000 sq. ft. casino in Saskatoon. The proposed facility would have a price tag of approximately $10 million and would employ as many as 300 people, said SIGA president and chief executive officer Dutch Lerat.

But public response to the proposal has been mixed.

City council said it would hold a plebiscite to gauge the level of public support for a new casino. But councillors couldn't decide how the plebiscite question should be worded. Instead, they deferred the issue until more is known about the SIGA proposal. Council is expected to return to the issue in early May.

"Let's give them the opportunity to work out what they would like to see and then we know what to ask the residents of Saskatoon," said councillor Rik Steernberg. "For us to fight over a question now, when we really don't know what (they want) is going to be . . . a waste of time."

The proposed Native casino would be owned by the Saskatoon Tribal Council and would be the fifth gaming facility in the province operated by SIGA. The authority already operates casinos in Yorkton, North Battleford, Prince Albert and on the White Bear reserve near Carlyle.

The province and the FSIN are currently renegotiating the terms of a five-year casino license which authorizes Native-run casinos in the province. The existing license is due to expire in February.

The FSIN and SIGA have indicated that approval of a fifth Native-run casino in the province will be the central issue during negotiations. The province says it won't allow a new Saskatoon casino unless the project is approved by Saskatoon city councillors.

Some Saskatoon councillors are worried that a new SIGA casino would put the city's Emerald Casino out of business.

The Emerald Casino, Saskatoon's only existing gaming facility, is run by the Saskatoon Prairieland Exhibition and is a major source of revenue for the city's Prairieland Exhibition park.

Councillor Don Atchison, who sits on the Prairieland's board of directors, said the exhibition and SIGA are involved in talks and are hoping to reach a gaming arrangement that would benefit both groups.

Lerat has already suggested that SIGA would hand over a portion of its profits to the Prairieland Exhibition as compensation for lost revenues at the Emerald Casino.

The authority would also guarantee jobs for any Emerald Casino employees affected by the SIGA expansion, Lerat said.

"We are prepared to work with all interested parties to ensure everyone has a say in the future of their province," Lerat said.

Atchison, one of seven city councillors who voted to defer the plebiscite, says the city shouldn't rush into a public vote until SIGA and Prairieland have completed their talks.

"They are working on a business transaction and I think we could be jumping the gun here (if we go to the public with a plebiscite)," he said.

Last month, FSIN chief Perry Bellegarde said SIGA would look at locations outside the city limits if Saskatoon councillors refused to endorse the casino project.

Potential locations outside the city limits include the Whitecap reserve and the Yellow Quill land near Cathedral Bluffs.

In 1994, a city plebiscite revealed a majority of Saskatoon voters were opposed to having a new casino built in the downtown area.

Four councillors, including Saskatoon mayor Henry Dayday, said the city should hold a plebiscite as quickly as possible.

Regardless of whether Prairieland and SIGA reach an agreement, we still have to answer the question of whether we are in favor of it or not, Dayday said.

"Is the council of the day, or tomorrow, going to answer without a plebiscite? I wouldn't want to."