VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority has recommended Vancouver not permit an expansion of the Edgewater Casino, saying it poses a significant health risk despite competing theories about the prevalence of problem gambling.
In a late-night address that appeared to catch both city council and the proponents of the expansion off guard, Dr. John Carsley, one of three health officers
City council is in the middle of a public hearing over whether to allow Paragon Gaming to build a $500 million casino expansion and hotel complex next to BC Place. The company has a 600-slot machine casino next door. The proposal is being supported by the B.C. Lottery Corporation and the B.C. Pavilion Corporation, which has given Paragon a tentative 70-year lease of a parcel adjoining the stadium.
But Carsley said the expansion has caused the health authority to weigh in under new Public Health Act rules, which require it to consult with municipalities on issues of public health. He said all of the regional authority's seven medical health officers — including its chief Dr. Patricia Daly — had unanimously concluded that an expanded casino poses an unjustified risk to the population.
The problem, he explained, is that there are two competing theories about the prevalence and creation of problem gambling.
One well-established medical theory is that exposure to problem gambling is akin to an environmental toxin, meaning the incidences of disease increase with time. A more recent theory advanced by sociologists called the "social adaptation theory" suggests the incidence of severe problem gambling levels off at around one per cent of the population.
In the absence of definitive proof of which theory is right, public health officers have to be prudent and recommend not to go ahead, he said
"From the public health point of view we would say, just as we would say when there is an environmental toxin ... there is inconclusive evidence but there is evidence, and we say you should make the prudent choice," he told reporters later.
"I didn't say I can't give you a recommendation. I said I would advise council not to go ahead with the expansion."
He told council that even at one per cent, a rise of one-tenth of a per cent in severe problem gambling would add another 2,000 addicts to the Lower Mainland.
"I want to mention the importance of devastating effects problem gambling does have. We're talking about severe family disrupture, mental illness, attempted suicide. It is a risk should we go ahead, based on the literature at the present time," he said.
"Finally, it is a risk that is unequitably spread through the population. The poor, people with addictions, people with mental health issues, the young, first nations, are most at risk. So they would suffer proportionately."
Carsley told reporters later that he was unable to tell council in his limited five minute address that B.C. also spends the least of all provinces on treatment and prevention of problem gambling. While the national average is over $3 spent per adult population, B.C. spends just $1.49. Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan spend six per cent of their gambling revenues.
"In B.C. there is no specific allocation for research. Research is funded out of any money that from lotteries that hasn't been claimed," he said.
Carsley's comments stunned councillors, who said they appreciated the fact he was mandated to speak to them. They asked the health authority to return at the continuation of the public hearing next Monday to answer more questions.
Scott Menke, the president of Paragon Gaming, said Carsley's comments added to the debate but noted that there's still no proof that an expansion would cause an increase in addiction rates.
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