SASK - “First Nations gaming deal in works”
Graham Andrews, Saskatchewan News Network, Regina Leader Post, Monday, May 07, 2007
SASKATOON — The provincial government will remain tight-lipped until at least June about negotiations concerning a Saskatchewan First Nations’ plan to keep all of their casino revenues and put video lottery terminals on some reserves.
The bands also have their sights set on what would be Canada’s first agreement to allow First Nations full jurisdiction over their gambling operations.
A top official with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) said last week that negotiations between the FSIN and the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) will continue until June. Vice-Chief Morley Watson said the FSIN, which operates the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA), wants to keep all the profits from its casinos.
Contributions from SIGA’s four casinos to the provincial government are expected to equal $15.4 million this year.
The First Nations gaming authority is also scheduled to open two more casinos in 2007, one at Whitecap Dakota Nation just outside Saskatoon and another in Swift Current.
“Unfortunately, we have to give $15 million to the province,” Watson said last week.
“Our First Nations leaders and communities feel that should be put back into developing our communities. “We want to be able to retain more of our profits that we earn.”
Deb Higgins, the NDP minister responsible for SLGA, was not available for comment, but a spokesperson said the government won’t reveal any details of the negotiations until after discussions have ended.
“During the current agreement, both parties have agreed that the negotiations won’t be brought up to the media,” said SLGA spokesman David Morris.
“The discussions are ongoing and we’re not prepared to discuss those.”
If there are any major developments, Morris said, they will be announced after negotiations conclude.
Under the current agreement between the province and the FSIN, casinos operated by SIGA give 37.5 per cent of their profits to the provincial government. The First Nations Trust Fund, which was established in 2002 by the province and the FSIN, also receives 37.5 per cent of profits from those casinos. The remaining approximately 25 per cent of profits from SIGA’s casino profits go to the community development corporations associated with each of the four First Nations-run casinos.
In return for SIGA’s contributions to the province, the First Nations Trust Fund receives 25 per cent of casino revenues from the government-run casinos in Regina and Moose Jaw, which is expected to amount to an $8.4-million injection to the fund this year for a total trust fund balance of about $26.5 million.
In addition to keeping more money from First Nations-run casinos, Watson said SIGA wants the right to put video lottery terminals onto reserves where people can’t easily get to a casino, and where the chief and council would allow them. Eventually, FSIN wants total authority over its gaming, Watson said.
“We also want to look at having full jurisdiction over gaming, but that’s going to take a little bit of time,” he said, adding that, in order for that to happen, permission would have to be granted from the federal government and changes would need to be made to legislation such as the Canadian Criminal Code.
No other province’s First Nations have any similar jurisdiction over gaming, and SLGA’s Morris said he wasn’t aware of any proposals in other provinces.
As part of the 25-year gaming agreement between the province and FSIN, reviews are held every five years. Through that agreement, the provincial government has pledged to help First Nations develop proposals seeking full gaming jurisdiction from the federal government.
A SPECIAL REPORT ON GAMING AND FIRST NATIONS
With new First Nations-run casinos opening soon in Swift Current and south of Saskatoon, the gaming industry in Saskatchewan is about to get even bigger. In a special report on gaming and First Nations, which will appear in tomorrow’s newspaper, the Leader-Post and Saskatoon Star-Phoenix examine the industry and how it is affecting the province.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007
