Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Who Really Slayed Vancouver's Casino Dragon?

AllTheCitizensThatFit
PublicHearingsVille

Before the deal went down, Frances Bula published an informative and insightful piece in the Globe yesterday morning that explained how the shifting of the political winds, including the 'fresh' new blasts of hot air blowing in from Victoria and/or the local Helijet pad, made it politically palatable for Vancouver City Council to give the thumbs down to the Casino Industrial Complex that was slated to go up next to Gordon Campbell's Big Tent that is replacing Bill Bennett's Marshmallow.

Which is all fine and good.

Especially given that Council voted unanimously to kill the thing last night.

But it would be a really, really big mistake for folks 'round Lotusland, regardless what they see, hear and read in the local proMedia over the next couple of newscycles, not to understand that the literally hundreds of delegations that represented thousands of people that spoke to council over a multiplicity of marathon public hearings, including sessions that took place over an entire weekend, also made a big, big difference.

Which is the way things are supposed to work.

Aren't they?


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I had my own beef with the Casino Industrial Complex, which mostly had to do with the way with the initial deal was done on the 'inside' of the pre-Crunchy provincial regime (see old posts at the tucked way at the top of the sidebar on the left).
A whole bunch of the delegations/folks, but certainly not all, that worked to stop this thing can be found here.


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