In medieval Europe, burghers were a class of people from whom city officials could be drawn. They contributed the aldermen, the councillors and the reeves and lord mayors of the fortified cities of the times. They were the priests of the temple. They were not the elite, the dukes and earls of the realm, but the servants of the elite. And in that capacity, they were in a position to control the morals of the day.
The custom continues to this day in Babel. East Babel is home to many of the burghers. They cohabit and procreate in Ward 1, north of the bay. They contribute winning candidates for federal and provincial parliaments. Their progeny dominate city council. And their outdated and oppressive moral codes keep the city chained to the past.
This is why the first time we suggested our train station to nowhere be given life as part of a casino on the bay, there was a chill wind felt from city hall. That was probably the attitude back in the 1990s that closed Barrie Raceway to make way for Georgian Downs. Innisfil has enjoyed revenues of some $4 million a year from Georgian Downs while Babel realty taxes continue to climb.
But Babel‘s burghers are blind to the benefits. Here, in the middle of Babel, on our beautiful bay, we have the ideal location for a convention hotel and a casino-entertainment complex—creating hundreds of permanent jobs with year-round tourism. And with GO Train transportation to the front door, you could not ask for a better location, or a more attractive lake view.
Still, the blue-stocking burghers of Babel cannot see beyond their up-turned noses. They react by saying they cannot compete with Georgian Downs or Casino Rama. That is utter foolishness. It is competition that built Las Vegas into the entertainment capital of the world. The GO trains will enable Babel to compete with a major casino complex in Toronto and both sites will be better for the competition.
What the burghers of Babel do not understand is that it is no longer the right of the majority in a democracy to decide what other people can do. People who want to gamble at a casino have that right. It is not for others to decide for them. Casinos are legal in Ontario. The burghers of Babel should catch up with the times!
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Copyright 2012 © Peter Lowry
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