On October 31st the following communication release was placed on the Province’s website:
“Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Ida Chong has received the independent report from Skip Triplett that examines government’s community gaming grant system for British Columbia. Triplett . . . delivered his report to the minister today. Government will release the report, in full, within the next 60 days – once it has had an opportunity to thoroughly review the document and determine next steps based on the options provided.”
http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2011/10/government-receives-independent-report.html
From everything that has been said by people who were involved with the review, it was conducted very well – open, receptive and comprehensive. It fulfilled the scope established for it by Minister Chong and was impressive in its use of a dynamic website and social media. As well, Minister Chong’s opening
remarks at the symposium were very much appreciated, especially her sincere intention that positive outcomes be implemented for charitable and non-profit
organizations in BC.
BCACG is grateful to Premier Clark for fulfilling her campaign promises to the letter and to consistently giving priority to solving the crisis facing so many
charitable and non-profit organizations in BC. We sincerely hope that this commitment generates positive change.
As we look forward, we hope that it does not take the full sixty days to release the report and to announce the “next steps”. Many charities have already downsized or shut down. It is a very serious problem for most, if not all, of the remaining organizations to have to wait yet again for information about the future. While we understand that government needs time to consider the report, this communication release does not give any clear timeline of when the “next steps” will actually be implemented. Hopefully there will not be yet another waiting period for the implementation timeline to be announced and then for the implementation to actually take place.
As BCACG has said now for over two years, the simplest most effective short-term solution to the worsening crisis facing charitable and non-profit organizations is to reinstate 2008 eligibility criteria and levels of funding immediately.
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News flash:
October 6, 2011:
BCACG conference in Vancouver:
Details:8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
River Rock Casino, Richmond, B.C.
9 am Welcome: Minister Ida Chong
1 pm Skip Triplett
3 pm The panel on “Advocacy on behalf of Charitable and Non-profit Organizations during the Crisis in Gaming Funding” is at 3 pm.
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August – September 2011:
The BC Gaming Grants Review has concluded, and now we wait. We would like to thank Mr. Skip Triplett for his professional, thoughtful stewardship of the review and his approachable, communicative style throughout.
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PLEASE make sure you sign up now to present to the BC Community Gaming Grants Review when it arrives in your area. All the information you need is here. So far we feel that the Review is being conducted in an open, interested manner. Please tell the committee, headed by Skip Triplett, exactly what the gaming grants mean to your org and by extension your community, and describe the damage you feel gaming cuts have inflicted. We need to make sure the government gets an accurate picture of what these cuts have really meant. Cuts in government services have meant that communities are increasingly very reliant on the charity/non-profit services that are ensured by these gaming grants. So many of you have told us that cuts to our gaming-funded charities and non-profits are cuts to the fabric of our society. The more clearly you can describe the specifics of this development, the better. Thank you.
July 11, 2011:
Christy Clark has appointed Skip Triplett as Chair of the provincial government’s review of gaming grants. We would like to welcome Mr. Triplett to the position and we hope to develop a productive relationship with him. The website for the review is here, and the government’s media release is here. We will update you as soon as new information comes in. For more information, click here.
June 3, 2011: Vancouver International Children’s Festival, hit with massive gaming funding cuts and other cuts, is currently in danger of closing. It’s just one among hundreds if not thousands of BC non-profits in severe trouble. These organizations supported gaming expansion with the promise they would receive gaming-derived funds. The Vancouver Not Vegas organization and others are asking Christy Clark to abide by her “Families First” agenda and restore gaming funds. If she can’t find the money in the billions in gambling revenue the government pulls in every year, she can perhaps suspend the BC Lottery Corp’s massive advertising budget and use those monies to restore gaming grants. Story in the Georgia Straight here and our blog post is here. Also see how BC compares unfavourably to Alberta in this regard.
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In March and April of this year, BCACG conducted a survey of over 2000 charities and non-profits. They were asked if they considered themselves to be at risk of closing their doors if their funding does not return to the stable levels of 2008 – before the massive cuts and category changes of 2009. Almost 200 charities and non-profits replied, each with its own story about layoffs, reduction in services and loss of premises. They also projected how long it would be before they would simply have to give up and shut down. This number of replies does not include the organizations that no longer have the staff or the time to reply to questionnaires. There were 6800 charities and non-profits in 2008 receiving gaming funds, if you extrapolate the numbers out of 2000 for 6800, it means at least 680 charities and non-profits across the province, and probably as many as 1000, are currently at risk.
Across Canada an equitable percentage of the profits from gaming have always gone to charities and non-profits. The gaming industry was built on the backs of charities and non-profits and our work is still used to promote gaming in BCLC’s marketing campaigns, and in those of all the regional community gaming centres. It is simply not right, if not fraudulent, that BCLC, and the various gaming businesses, use our hard work and the needs of the people we serve to line their pockets with profits – while starving the charitable and non-profit sector of the relatively meager amounts they rely on to provide much needed services in every community of the province.
While some organizations received a much needed boost from the $15 milliom Premier Clark added to the 2010-2011 budget, there has been no action for 2011-2012, except the promise of a review –which has been slow in coming. How long can a patient in need of oxygen survive? Premier Clark convinced us all that she cared deeply about the work of the charitable and non-profit sector, including the arts! When will that caring manifest itself in action?
Email MLAs here. Write your MLA and the premier and ask them to abide by the 1999 Memorandum of Agreement with charities and restore these funds immediately!
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If you think that more gambling in BC means more funding for BC charities, think again!
Since the current gaming funding crisis began in mid-2009, the BCACG has advocated strenuously for the return of promised funding to charities and non-profits. The BCACG began by advising the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch of the impacts that gaming funding cutbacks were having on its members. In the fall of 2010 the BCACG stepped up its advocacy and publicly challenged Minister Coleman to abide by the 1999 Memorandum of Agreement which dictates that 1/3 of gaming revenues be distributed to charities and non-profits (we currently receive about 10%). Minister Coleman’s response was that the Memorandum is not legally binding; this is not true. BCACG also called on Vancouver City Hall to halt the review process for the BC government’s application to expand gaming in the city (Edgewater mega-casino) until these issues are resolved. Thank you to Vancouver City Council for its motion calling on the BC gov’t to support charities with a fair share of gaming revenues (Feb 2011) and for its unanimous rejection of the Edgewater mega-casino, partly in light of BCLC irregularities including reneging on charity contributions.
The BCACG has also formally asked the BC Auditor General to investigate the legality of the cuts to gaming funding.
The charity and not-for-profit sector can not be squeezed any further. Many community services once shouldered by government have been off-loaded onto our sector, and with these current cuts our ability to leverage invaluable volunteer labour to fulfill our work has been severely compromised.
Current Issues
Please visit our News blog (“NEWS” button at top) for timely updates on pressing issues and our current activities.
On November 13 the Times-Colonist ran this excellent letter by Clayton Jevne of Theatre Inconnu in Victoria: Gaming Branch cultural grants a vital lifeline for smaller arts groups. Please pass it on!
What can you do?
Please sign the petition!
Petition to restore gaming funding to charities and non-profits across the province.
Please read our
Open Letter to the BC Gaming Minister
For more detailed background information:
BCACG Brief on BC Gaming Legislation
Our mandate
British Columbia Association for Charitable Gaming (BCACG) is a non profit society representing charities’ interests in British Columbia since 1997. Our members have access to gaming revenue though Direct Access, Bingo Affiliation or Raffles. BCACG addresses the concerns of charities with licensing and access to gaming revenue.
BCACG needs your continued financial support. In addition, your membership gives us strength in numbers. Your voice is necessary to ensure your access to gaming revenue continues. So many important charities and non-profits in BC rely on gaming revenue in the province. For membership application, please click here.
To our BCACG membership
Please email us with your organization name, email address, and a senior staffperson’s contact name so we may keep you abreast of critical gaming policy and funding changes that impact your charity or non-profit group. We would like to email these timely news bulletins to you so you may act on them quickly and/or forward them to your local stakeholders, media and politicians as required. By the time these bulletins were to reach you by regular mail, it may be too late for action. Thank-you for your immediate attention to this matter.
