imerk
Active Member
Hipster Duck, I couldn't have said it better myself. Decking over the rails is the main thing I look forward to in this proposal, so without it it's not the same.
Yup. Let me try to summarize and then weigh the arguments for- and against a casino, as presented so far in this thread from credible sources.
A. The evidence suggests that introducing casinos do not add significantly to increased social problems
B. The evidence suggests that introducing casinos does not add significantly to the creation of jobs and revenues for communities, either
C. If no casino is built, the MTCC renovations and the construction of the Norman Foster supertalls will proceed (ie. the supertall office towers finance the rehabilitation of MTCC)
D. If a casino is built, however, the public park over the rail corridor becomes possible
E. The casino is a gargantuan, block-spanning edifice that may not be conducive to fostering the micro-scaled urbanity that we (or at least I) tend to prefer
F. The existing area, as it is, is dominated by gargantuan, block-spanning edifices that have not fostered any micro-scaled urbanity in the area to date.
So:
A cancels B, E cancels F. Condition C placates supertall fans in the event that no casino is built.
My favourite component is the addition of a public park over the rail corridor. I really like that feature, actually. D is only possible if the casino is built.
So, my final verdict in this is: build the casino.
The people in the city that want to gamble have a plethora of methods to do so. They can hop on a bus and go to Rama or Niagara Falls. People have this idea that a casino downtown is going to spawn a whole new breed of gamblers that will line up for hours to spend money they don't have.
If we really want to cover the railway line, there are ways to do that which do not involve the casino. One thing is for sure, it won't be paid for by tourists
Yeah, it will be paid by people like you and me.... and everyone else that lives in Toronto
....and you are OK with that, right
Yup, all the mental health professionals and researchers are clearly idiots. If only they were as enlightened as yourself.
Hipster Duck,
I genuinely believe that building this casino where proposed and in the shape in which it is being proposed will lead to crime and loss of lives that wouldn't otherwise occur. This on top of bringing next to no financial benefits. In the OLG thread I show that in gambling has been linked to increases in crime and social ills over and over again. This is not a consequence of gambling itself, but rather of the way in which certain casinos - such as the one here proposed - are organised and regulated. I am willing to bet that, just like in most major casinos, a very large chunk of the profit will come from new problem gambling.
Right now the part of Toronto where the casino is proposed is according to police data one of the safest neighbourhoods in Canada. Cityplace South of the railway tracks is one of the few places in Toronto where next to no robberies or murders have been reported in years! And next to no one living there wants to deal with a casino. This is people who loved and supported the idea of aquariums, breweries, restaurants, and who have generally not opposed high rises or large amounts of subsidised housing. There is a risk that the casino will ruin this community, and this risk is not worth taking when the proposed benefits are so measly.
If we really want to cover the railway line, there are ways to do that which do not involve the casino. If it really was a priority for the city and the province, we could get it done. One thing is for sure, it won't be paid for by tourists.