Surrey council should resist the pressure of lobbyists and reject the $100-million South Surrey casino being proposed by the B.C. Lottery Corp. and Gateway Casinos.
Business leaders in the community are backing the project, saying it will create jobs and brings tax revenue to the community. While that is true, it’s also the case of other businesses that could be encouraged to set up shop in Surrey. Other businesses also won’t attract crime and other problems to the area. The casino is not the community’s only option.
And it’s not like there’s a huge need for new gambling facilities; no one who likes to bet is being turned away from existing casinos due to a lack of capacity.
Most importantly, governments at the federal, provincial and municipal levels should not be encouraging more gambling, which can destroy families. It’s wrong for government to make money by preying on people’s weakness.
Gaming is not a business that will build our economy; it simply sucks away dollars that people could use in more positive ways. Surrey can do better.
Editorials are unsigned opinion pieces that represent the views of The Province editorial board, a group of senior editors.
The editorial pages editor is Gordon Clark, who can be reached at gclark@theprovince.com. Letters to the editor can be sent to provletters@theprovince.com.
