12/ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 THE RIDER McGuinty and Duncan Called To Testify


Karen Dallimore karen.dallimore@gmail.com 519-855-1127 http://horsebackwriter.net @Horsebackwriter Standardbred horse breeders


in Ontario are one step closer to finding out why the Ontario Gov- ernment (Ontario) and Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) cancelled the Slots at Racetracks Program (SARP) over four years ago. In a decision this week by


the Divisional Court, Ontario and OLG have been denied permis- sion to appeal the decision of Jus- tice Emery in August that called for the examination of key wit- nesses in a $65 million lawsuit brought forth by the Standard- bred breeders. This means that the exami-


nations will go forward, Ian Matthews, lawyer for the plain- tiffs, told Ontario Farmer. At this point their legal team has made written requests to the Crown and OLG lawyers to proceed with the


examinations and to video tape the testimonies, which will even- tually become public record. The first witness they seek


to examine is Don Drummond, the author of the independent ‘Drummond Report’. In the words of Justice Emery, in his August 2017 ruling, Drummond will be asked, “whether is report was indeed independent, or whether he was part of an orches- trated strategy by Ontario and OLG to market changes to SARP revenue sharing they had already decided to implement.” A total of 11 people will be


John Snobelin, a panelist on the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel and former Conservative cabinet member when the SARP was introduced, is one of 11 witnesses that will be examined. Documents show that Snobelin was critical of former Finance


Minister Dwight Duncan’s handling of the cancelation of SARP. DSCN3029.jpg – The sudden cancellation of the Slots at Race- track Program (SARP) sparked major protests at Queen’s Park.


called to testify under oath, in- cluding former Premier Dalton McGuinty; former Finance Min- ister Dwight Duncan; Horse Rac- ing Industry Panel member John Wilkinson; Ontario Racing Com- mission Chair Rod Seiling; Karim Bardeesy, McGuinty’s Di- rector of Policy and Research; Senior Liberal Policy Advisor Blair Stransky; Tim Shorthill, Duncan’s Chief of Staff; Darcy


SARP ran between 1998 and 2012 with 17 Ontario racetracks.


McNeill, Director of Communi- cations for the Ministry of Fi- nance; Horse Racing Industry Panel member John Snobelin; and Steve Orsini, former Deputy Minister of Finance. Each will be asked to respond to questions re- garding evidence already gath- ered.


Former Minister of Agricul-


ture Ted McMeekin ad the Hon- ourable Kathleen Wynne, current Premier of Ontario, are protected under parliamentary privilege and cannot be compelled to tes- tify while legislature is in session until 40 days after it ends. Rod Phillips, former CEO of OLG, and Claire MacDougall Sadava, a current employee of OLG, have already been examined. For the horse breeders,


Matthews calls the ruling, “a pos- itive development”. Ontario and the OLG were intent on prevent- ing these examinations, said Matthews. This latest ruling puts tremendous pressure on Ontario.


Your horse has given you a lifetime of love and it is hard to walk away when the time has come to say goodbye


Honouring the life of your horse.


“ONTARIO’S LARGEST EQUINE CREMATION SERVICE”


Let the staff at Ontario Equine Cremation Services provide you with individual equine cremation.


--------------------


Servicing all of Ontario Government Licensed


www.ontarioequinecremationservices.ca


Barry & Mary Hunter, Family & Staff clearblufarms@bellnet.ca


1.888.668.2989 519.268.2989


Examining these witnesses will allow breeders to find out the real story behind the cancellation of the SARP agreement. SARP partnered 17 Ontario


racetracks with the OLG between 1998 and 2012, sharing slot ma- chine revenue under site holder agreements. That revenue was di- rected towards race purses and racetrack improvements. The Standardbred breeders contend that while they were not specifi- cally named as recipients of this revenue the Ontario government and OLG assured the horse breeders that this business agree- ment was a commitment upon which they could base their in- vestments and operational deci- sions for a typical cascading five-year breeding cycle. The program was abruptly cancelled in 2013, leaving many horse breeders in severe financial dis- tress.


©2017 K. Dallimore. All Rights Reserved.


Stay


informed! Subscribe Today!


Don’t Miss An Issue!


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56