Steve Clark, Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Leeds and Grenville, believes that OLG’s modernization plan is rigged since it appears the selection of Kingston as a relocation site had been pre-decided even before the recommendation to move a casino “to more densely populated urban areas” was presented for approval to the Liberal Cabinet in February 2012.

MPP Clark based his accusation on the report submitted last week by Ontario Auditor General (OAG) Bonnie Lysyk, which mentioned that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLG’s) plan to relocate the OLG Thousand Islands casino to Kingston was conceived as far back as 2012.

The Leeds and Grenville MPP Clark explained that OAG’s findings indicate that at the time when the provincial government gave assurance of a fair selection process, to him and to the local officials of Gananoque and Leeds,   Kingston was already a predetermined choice.

Gananoque Mayor Erika Demchuk said that they had repeatedly asked the OLG if Kingston will be favored over the casino’s existing Gananoque site, for which they took OLG’s “No” answer as a possibility that the transfer will not push through. The Gananoque Mayor further stated, “The OLG repeatedly told the town and township that its process was fair and open and reassured local officials that they were in a good position because the casino was already there, making money and supported by the community.”

Since the OAG’s revelation made it clear that the decision to transfer the Thousand Islands casino to Kingston had been predetermined all along, the local officials of Gananoque and Leeds feel both angered and dismayed because they have been working hard for the past two years, doing everything they can to prevent the removal of the Thousand Islands casino in their community.