19-Oct-09. Gambling against city charities. Calgary Herald, A12.

In this editorial, the author discusses urban-rural issues confronting the committee that has been formed to review casino proceeds to charitable organizations in Alberta. Liberal MLA for Calgary Buffalo Kent  Hehr says the Tories have a long history of diverting money from the cities to rural areas.

15-Oct-09. Casino changes threaten charities. Calgary Herald, B1.

Leslie Evans, the executive director of the Federation of Calgary Communities, will argue today that the Province of Alberta should not change how casino proceeds are distributed to charitable organizations. An MLA committee reviewing casino proceeds for charitable organizations will soon be meeting in Calgary for round table talks to ensure proceeds are distributed equitably. At present, there are sharp earnings differences between regions. In Calgary, between April and June, the charitable proceeds per event were $76,109, according to the commission, versus $18,246 in Medicine Hat.

29-Sep-09. New foundation to assist fundraising. Calgary Herald, A1.

School district officials say the Catholic Education Foundation of Calgary, expected to begin in December, won’t be a replacement for the $2-million raised annually for schools through casinos and bingo events. The district two years ago announced a ban on all casino and bingo fundraisers, effective March 2010, following a public feud between Bishop Fred Henry and Catholic school board trustees. Other Catholic school boards in the province are also struggling with the issue of gambling fundraisers and how to move away from them according to Ted Paszek, president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees Association.

29-Sep-09. Redistribution of charitable casino dollars sparks battle. Calgary Herald, A4.

The Alberta government earlier this month appointed a committee of government MLAs to review Alberta’s charitable gaming model and make recommendations for how to revamp rules regarding the pooling of casino dollars, wait times for holding an event and the number of volunteers needed. The province has been hearing concerns that groups in rural Alberta are receiving less in charitable casino revenues – about $18,000 each per event in Medicine Hat – compared to about $76,000 in Calgary. Leslie Evans, executive director of the Federation of Calgary Communities, which represents 143 Calgary community associations, is concerned that urban charities could lose funding to rural charities.

11-Sep-09. Charities hit by casino woes. Calgary Herald, B1.

The Province of Alberta will attempt to address fundraising challenges faced by charities through a  MLA committee that will tour the province between October 5 and 15 to meet with them. The committee comes in response to concerns already raised by some charities that wait times between charitable casino events are too long in some areas of the province, that urban casinos often raise much more than rural ones, and that recruiting volunteers has become too difficult.

4-Sep-09. 20 per cent cut for Alta. arts groups. Lethbridge Herald, B1.

Alberta culture minister Lindsay Blackett says arts and non-profit groups funded through gaming and government grants can expect up to a 20 per cent cut in money. Blackett says part of the reason for the cuts is a 14 per cent decrease in video lottery terminal revenues.

3-Sep-09. Funding reversal falls short: arts groups. Globe and Mail, S1.

Arts groups in British Columbia are not mollified by news that the provincial government has now decided to honour promised payments of gaming grant monies. Last Friday, the government had announced that money promised in multiyear community gaming funds would not be paid.

1-May-09. Misuse of gambling profits. Red Deer Advocate, A4.

This editorial comments on gambling statistics released by the Canadian Partnership for Responsible Gambling in their annual Canadian Gambling Digest. The report notes that Alberta’s 24 casinos and 6,000 video lottery terminals (VLTs) send a third more money to government than royalty payments from the province’s oilsands industry.  The author contends that gambling in the province has moved away from its “charity gambling” origins as the provincial government distributes fewer gambling-generated funds to non-profit organizations.

19-Mar-09. E-mails prove lotteries used as slush funds: Grits. Calgary Herald, A4.

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton said emails exchanged between his constituency office and the Alberta Lottery Fund last year were misunderstood when Alberta Liberals obtained them under the Freedom of Information Act. Liberals pointed to the correspondence as another sign the province’s lottery revenue – distributed to communities to pay for big projects – is primarily a slush fund for government MLAs.

18-Mar-09. ‘Slush fund’ talk angers Stelmach. Calgary Herald, A9.

With a series of emails obtained under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Alberta Liberals charged they had new proof the government has turned lottery grant funding into a political matter. Government revenues from VLTs, slot machines and ticket lotteries are used to fund community projects. The money is managed by the government, but under a non-partisan arragement; dollars are matched by communities, and a number of people are supposed to be consulted before money is distributed.