If there are fans of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s recent unveiling of the long-awaited horse racing industry transition panel’s five-year plan, Randy Pettapiece isn’t among them.
The Perth-Wellington MPP is also the PC critic for rural affairs and the horse racing industry.
Following the announcement at the Grand River Raceway on Oct. 11, Pettapiece said it was difficult to judge the day’s announcement without the specifics of that plan.
“What you have to remember is that [Wynne] was at the table when the Slots at Racetracks Program (SARP) ended. She was there to devastate rural Ontario – especially in the horse racing industry.”
He said it was difficult to make comment until he had a chance to fully study the report as set out on Oct. 11.
Pettapiece reiterated the NDP helped this along by not opposing the budget last year.
“They are just as culpable in this decision as the premier,” he said, adding, “[The government] had no plan when the SARP program was cancelled, and now they are trying to make up for it. That is the disappointing thing.” He said that so far, roughly 9,000 people in rural Ontario have lost their work because of that move.
“If this is [the government’s] idea of job creation, it’s not working,” Pettapiece said.
“I can assure the horse racing industry, if [the PC party] forms the next government, we are going to work with them, not against them as this [current] government has done.”
Pettapiece continued: “They did not consult, they did not do analysis, and they just devastated the industry. Now they want us to believe they’re the ones to save it? They have zero credibility.”
If the government had consulted with the industry before pulling the plug on SARP, horse racing would be in far better shape today, said Pettapiece, who was on hand for the premier’s announcement.
In recent weeks, Pettapiece has questioned the premier in the legislature on the plight of the industry including the job losses occurring at the Fort Erie Racetrack.
The panel’s report recommends retaining just eight tracks: Hanover, Clinton, Grand River, Western Fair, Flamboro, Georgian, Mohawk and Woodbine. That’s a steep decline from 17 tracks just two years ago, Pettapiece observed.
In Windsor, New Democrat MPP Taras Natyshak said Wynne’s horse racing announcement does little to undo the serious damage the Liberal government has caused in rural communities with their ham-fisted changes to Ontario’s gaming sector.
The plan includes fewer race dates and smaller purses for standardbred racing leading to continuing contraction of the industry.
Natyshak said the current crisis was created by the Liberal government when they moved to end a successful profit-sharing arrangement as part of a plan to increase casino privatization.
“Kathleen Wynne seems to think she should get credit for acting – but she’s a day late and a dollar short. That horse won’t race,” said Natyshak.
“The Liberal drive to privatize the OLG and force casinos into communities that oppose them has let rural families be collateral damage. Tim Hudak keeps howling from the sidelines, but his team has the exact same privatization plans.”
“Horse racing has deep roots in Ontario. Some of these tracks have over a hundred years’ of history, and the Liberals are destroying a way of life.”
