The CEO of Greenhawk, one of Canada’s leading horse equipment suppliers, has written to all Ontario MPPs advising them of the widespread fallout from the termination of the Slots at Racetracks program:
Dear Member of Parliament,
The recent Liberal government s budget initiative to terminate the long standing agreement between the Ontario horse racing industry and the OLG slots program will do irreversible damage to the health of the horse industry in Ontario.
We urge you to either insist on reinstating the slots program or to vote down the budget.
There are 60,000 people employed in the horse industry in Ontario. Our company employs approximately 350 Canadians across the country with half of that employment here in Ontario. Our business will suffer significantly if the slots arrangement initiative is allowed to pass.
The horse industry in Ontario touches all aspects of rural Ontario life but it also impacts upon the many thousands of urban Ontarians who travel to the countryside daily to engage in recreational and equestrian sport activities. The horse racing industry in Ontario (viewed as the most successful in North America) is materially tied to the recreational equestrian industry through the thousands of horse breeders, trainers, grooms and owners across the province. Consider the infrastructure necessary to support an equestrian farm whether it is a breeding farm, training operation, equestrian riding facility or personal use equestrian farm.
Veterinarians, farm equipment dealers, trucks, maintenance and horse care staff, feed, hay farmers, farm supplies, tack shops, fencing suppliers, farriers, and so on all are essential components in the supply chain necessary to keep the horse industry in operation. There are 1000’s of equestrian facilities across the province. Allowing this budget initiative to succeed will hurt both the value of those farms (as racing and breeding operations sell off their farms and move their businesses to the USA) as well as the underlying infrastructure and supply chain across the province.
Thousands of Ontarians who have spent their lives working in the horse industry will be left without work and without a future. Thousands of American horse owners, trainers and horse buyers who come regularly from the USA to spend their money in Ontario will have no further reason to come. Surely this cannot be the intent of the recent Liberal budget.
Consider the financial effects of horse racing on the Ontario economy
•$261 million dollars in revenue for the province of Ontario exclusive of slot revenue.
•The Horse Racing Industry spends more than $2 billion dollars per year in Ontario, with
more than 80% of that money being spent in rural Ontario.
•An estimated 60,000 jobs are attributed to the horse racing and breeding industry in Ontario.
•$1.5 billion dollars in wages and salaries are sustained annually by the total expenditures of
the horse racing industry.
Eliminating the partnership between OLG and the horse industry will do significant harm to the provincial economy and will destroy a vibrant and successful industry that remains thriving today in Ontario. We are at a loss as to how any party or MPP could support such an initiative.
We strongly urge you to vote down this budget or insist that this initiative be reversed.
We currently maintain a data base of approximately 65,000 active equestrians across Canada. All are active in the horse industry either through employment or recreation. We are sending each of those individuals a copy of this letter.
Please support the horse industry in Ontario.
Sincerely yours
Ian K. Russell
CEO
Greenhawk Inc
5665 McLaughlin Road
Mississauga, ON
