First Nations aren't winners in N.B.'s new gambling policy: chief
Last Updated: Friday, November 9, 2007 | 10:24 AM AT
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Some First Nation leaders are saying the New Brunswick government's new gambling policy missed an opportunity to help aboriginal people in the province.
Finance Minister Victor Boudreau announced on Thursday that the province will have one casino by 2010.
It makes New Brunswick the ninth province in Canada to approve casino gaming.
A request for proposals has already been issued for the casino, but the government is leaving it up to the proponents to determine where the facility should be built and if it will include other amenities such as a racetrack, hotel, convention centre or entertainment theatre.
An independent consultant will evaluate the proposals based on business and economic sense.
"We asked to be a major stakeholder in this casino because in the United States and Canada, the native-owned casinos are successful ones and it helps the communities to be self-sufficient and move forward," said Susan Levi-Peters, chief of the Elsipogtog First Nation.
Chiefs are still formulating a joint response on the government's new gaming plan, Levi-Peters said.
Elsipogtog is ready to make a proposal to operate the casino, she added.
In the 2006-07 fiscal year, eight First Nation communities received a total of $7.5 million from the provincial government through revenue sharing agreements on gaming.
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