McGuinty
Government’s Lotteries Minister must resign, Arnott
says
Speaking to standards of integrity, and the dwindling
faith people have in Ontario-run lotteries, MPP Ted
Arnott made the following statement in the Ontario Legislature
on March 29th, 2007:
Mr.
Ted Arnott (Waterloo-Wellington): Listening to the McGuinty
Liberal Government’s weak defence of their actions in
the lottery scandal, people are again questioning whether
or not they can believe what they are hearing.
The
average person buying a lottery ticket knows the odds
of winning are long, but implicitly believes in the
integrity of the game. Who on earth would buy a ticket
if they believed they were going to be cheated out of
a potential win? No one.
This
is yet another of the Government’s problems today, because
as the Ombudsman’s report points out, the Province of
Ontario has become addicted to gambling revenues. And
now Dalton McGuinty is nervous that this scandal is
going to cut into his Government’s bottom line.
Another
question follows: how many people in Ontario, like Bob
Edmonds, have bought lottery tickets in good faith and
have been cheated out of their winnings?
The
Ombudsman estimates that millions of dollars have been
paid out in dishonest claims. That would mean thousands
of Ontarians have been robbed of money that was rightfully
theirs. No wonder Dalton McGuinty is afraid that people
are going to stop buying lottery tickets.
Mr.
Speaker, I’ve been concerned for a long time that gambling
in Ontario is out of control and we’re not doing enough
to help people with gambling addictions. That’s why
I introduced a Private Member’s Bill calling for a public
enquiry into the social impact of gambling in Ontario,
almost three years ago.
And
yesterday, I heard the Minister responsible for lotteries,
still in office as of this moment, hanging on by the
skin of his teeth, say that he has given all his files
to the OPP.
Surely
this means the activities of his office are being investigated
by the police and as such, he must resign.
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