Ontario Legislature passes motion in support of horse

NEWS RELEASE
Ted Arnott, MPP
Wellington – Halton Hills
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2012

Ontario Legislature passes motion in support of horse
racing industry
(Queen’s Park) – Yesterday, the Ontario Legislature passed a motion in support of the Ontario horse racing
industry.

The motion, which was brought forward by Nepean-Carleton PC MPP Lisa MacLeod, called on the Auditor
General to review the OLG’s new gaming plans, making specific reference to its effect on the Ontario horse
racing industry.

Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott participated in the debate on the motion and challenged the
Government’s characterization of the program as a subsidy:

“While the government has characterized the slots-at-racetracks program as a subsidy to the industry, our PC
caucus has expressed the view that the program is in fact a revenue-sharing agreement. It has worked well
for years, generating billions for the treasury over those years.”

Mr. Arnott also pointed to several findings listed in the interim report by the horse racing industry transition
panel which was released last week. Among the panel’s findings were:

• “Without slots revenue or a new revenue stream, the horse racing industry in Ontario will
cease to exist.” (page 27)
• “Absent some other new revenue stream, no Ontario racetrack has a viable business plan to
continue racing operations after March 31, 2013.” (page 28)
• “The essential ingredients for a viable horse racing industry – tracks, race dates and purses,
and products – will dissolve once the slots-at-racetracks program ends.” (page 29)
• “If the industry closes, the panel has received expert advice that provision should be made for
the humane dispatch and disposal of 7,500 to 13,000 horses in early 2013.” (page 31)

Before the motion was debated, supporters of the horse racing industry held a rally on the front lawn of
Queen’s Park. Mr. Arnott spoke at the rally.

“I hope that this motion causes the Government to finally wake up and listen to the legitimate concerns that
we are raising,” Mr. Arnott said after the motion passed. “The horse racing industry is an important employer
in rural Ontario and unless the Government changes course, thousands of jobs will disappear. It will mean
the end of horse racing in Ontario as we know it.”

(Attached: Mr. Arnott’s speech in the Ontario Legislature, August 30, 2012)

– 30 –

Ted Arnott, MPP
Phone: 416-325-3880
Email: ted.arnott@pc.ola.org

Ontario Hansard – August 30, 2012

Mr. Ted Arnott: Speaker, let’s recall what happened on March 12. Without warning, without
consultation and, we now know, without a proper economic impact study, the Minister of Finance
announced that he would be scrapping the slots-at-racetracks program effective March 31, 2013. It is
estimated that today the equine industry supports the employment of as many as 60,000 Ontarians, and
I’ve been told that the equine industry employs thousands of people in my riding. From the beginning,
we’ve said that unless the government changes course, the livelihood of many of our neighbours would be
in jeopardy.
We know that many in the industry do not have easily transferable job skills. While the government has
characterized the slots-at-racetracks program as a subsidy to the industry, our PC caucus has expressed the
view that the program is in fact a revenue-sharing agreement. It has worked well for years, generating
billions for the treasury over those years. We contended that the government had made a huge mistake by
throwing the slots-at-racetracks program out the window.
While I firmly believe that the government must take immediate steps to get its spending under control
and balance the budget, I have never accepted that this should include eliminating the horse racing
industry in the province of Ontario. I publicly called upon the government to release any economic impact
studies that they had done before making the decision to end the slots-at-racetracks program and kill the
horse racing industry in Ontario.
A constituent from our area was thinking the very same thing. He went so far as to make a freedom-of-
information request, asking for any economic impact studies that have been done. They responded to him
with an economic impact note on Ontario’s horse racing industry, which was generated by ministry staff
as confidential advice to cabinet. The constituent gave it to me. Two weeks ago, my colleague the
member for Perth-Wellington and I released it to the public.
The report is dated March 14. As we all know, the government announced its decision to end the slots-at-
racetracks program two days before that. I submit to this House that this is proof positive that the
government had made up its mind to kill the horse racing industry in Ontario before it had any idea of the
true economic impact the industry represents, the real number of jobs the industry sustains and the reality
faced by families whose livelihoods are dependent on a thriving horse racing industry.
Now let’s take a look at the interim report of the horse racing industry transition panel. The Minister of
Agriculture and Food was very selective in his public comments when he released the report, leading the
media to believe that the panel agreed with the government’s decision to scrap the slots-at-racetracks
program. But people need to read the whole report, not just the executive summary, which is similarly
one-sided. Quote, page 27, panel finding: “Without slots revenue or a new revenue stream, the horse
racing industry in Ontario will cease to exist.” Quote, page 28, panel finding: “Absent some other new
revenue stream, no Ontario racetrack has a viable business plan to continue racing operations after March
31, 2013.” Quote, page 29, panel finding: “The essential ingredients for a viable horse racing industry-
tracks, race dates and purses, and products-will dissolve once” the slots-at-racetracks program ends.
Quote, page 31, panel finding: “If the industry closes, the panel has received expert advice that provision
should be made for the humane dispatch and disposal of 7,500 to 13,000 horses in early 2013.” Quote,
page 32, panel finding: “We urge the government to make a decision quickly.” The importance of that final statement cannot be overestimated. We know that the autumn yearling sales
in Ontario will commence within a matter of days. Without some certainty as to what the government is
going to do or when, either the yearlings will have no buyers or their value will likely collapse. These
young horses may then end up euthanized or purchased and sent to slaughter plants.
If there are no yearlings, the whole production cycle of the industry may suffer irreparable damage and
horse racing will be finished in Ontario. But by supporting this motion today, the House can send a
powerful message to the government that they must act now.