TORONTO - The Chippewas of Rama will get a 1.9 per cent share of gross revenues from Casino Rama under a new 20-year agreement with Ontario Lottery and Gaming to act as the landlord of the casino on their land north of Orillia.
Casino Rama has had more than $5.2 billion in gross revenues, and profits of about $500 million, since it opened in 1996, and had revenues of $498.4 million for the year ending March 31, 2009.
The share for the Rama First Nation in the first year of the new deal would be approximately $8.8 million, up from $5.8 million under the current arrangement.
The deal includes one-time funding of $2.3 million for a new training and development centre in Rama, $900,000 for a new staff parking lot, a continuation of a $7.8 million service contract for snow removal, fire and police services and another $6.5 million in additional land and building leases.
The agreement with the Rama First Nation, home to about 1,500 residents, takes effect Aug. 1, 2011, and includes two successive renewal options of 10 and five years, at the sole discretion of OLG.
"We're very pleased because it gives certainty to the future not only of Casino Rama and the Rama First Nation but also the surrounding communities as well," said Chief Sharon Stinson Henry.
"Quite frankly, Casino Rama is the economic engine for the region."
The Ontario government takes a 20 per cent cut of gross revenues from all its casinos -- about $162 million this year -- while the 133 other Ontario First Nations, excluding the host Chippewas of Rama, have been dividing up the net profits from Casino Rama.
However, the Chiefs of Ontario agreed in 2008 to give up altogether their rights to the Casino Rama revenues in exchange for $201 million and a 1.7 per cent cut of all provincial gaming revenues starting next year. The historic deal is expected to give the 133 First Nations in Ontario $120 million a year -- about double their take under the current agreement -- to about $3 billion over 25 years.
The Chippewas of Rama, who are also known as the Chippewas of Mnjikaning, had been fighting to keep 35 per cent of the Rama profit for themselves for hosting the casino, but the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected their claim last Friday. That 35 per cent share has been held in a trust since the court action was launched in 2001, and none was paid to the Rama First Nation.
Appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada is "certainly one option that we will look at," said Henry.
"We do have 60 days from the decision -- which was not in our favour and was of course disappointing -- to review the decision with our legal counsel, and are in the process of doing that."
About 500 of Casino Rama's 3,000 employees are aboriginal, making it the largest single-site employer of First Nations in the country. It is the only commercial gambling operation in Ontario located on a First Nation reserve.
During an unrelated event in Kitchener on Tuesday, Premier Dalton McGuinty downplayed the idea of selling Ontario Lottery and Gaming to help tackle a record $24.7 billion deficit, saying he didn't want to preside over a deal that is viewed 20 years later as a fire sale.
"We want to make sure that this is not some kind of short-term gain to satisfy some immediate need on the part of our generation, rather that something that speaks to an investment in a bright future," said McGuinty.
