Belleville Mayor Taso Christopher greets Reverend David Mundy and his supporters in the city council chamber’s public gallery following Mundy’s deputation to council, February 8, 2015. (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
A local minister, who had been denied making a deputation to Belleville city council regarding casinos, made that deputation last night.
Councillors voted 8 to 1 to allow Reverend David Mundy to make that deputation.
Reverend Mundy, who represented more than 300 churches in his deputation, told the councillors they had the next 12 months to be proactive rather than re-active to problems that might arise from gambling addiction.
He says there is often a gap between what is promised and what is delivered.
Mayor Taso Christopher said 15,000 people already leave the city to participate in casinos but have no economic assistance and the local social services has to deal with that.
Referring to the provincial casino mandatory program for assisting those with gambling addiction, he said “Now we will have economic assistance to deal with that.”
He said “my ambition before the end of the calendar year is to know where we are going” and will know how to “roll out the blanket of security.”
Councillor Jackie Denyes was the only councillor who voted against allowing the deputation.
