Katie Couric ponders jump to CBS /17
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2006

Youth soccer Dramatic role chairman rewarding for resigns /8 actor /13

Straight talk from a gay jock /16

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 59 CENTS A DAY)

Gaming centre fuels bingo debate
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff A spokesman for the effort to establish a community gaming centre in downtown Prince George is refuting concerns raised by the Community Planning Council about the idea in a report to city council. The centre, which would combine 50 slot machines with bingo, Keno, lottery products and offtrack betting into a single complex, is billed by the B.C. Lotteries Corporation as the answer to falling revenues at bingo halls. However, the CPC fears it will encourage irresponsible gambling, will not benefit charities and will take business away from other downtown establishments. But Craig Briere, who is guiding the project through city hall, said much of the information the CPC is using is out of context. For example, the CPC points to the advent of electronic bingo as an indication of the dangers the centre could pose for gambling addicts. A bingo player can now spend up to $81 to play 108 cards in a single game, compared to $27 on 36 cards using the paper-only system. But Briere said the systems are already in use at Good Time Bingo Hall and therefore would be nothing new. He also said three studies conducted by the provincial government over the last 15 years show the same percentage of the population has a prevalence for gaming. In other words, Briere argues, the centres wouldn't increase the proportion of problem gamblers. Briere disputed the CPC's concern that affiliated charities only get revenue from paper bingo, not electronic. "They're not linked together," he said. Instead, affiliated charities earn funding based on the number of hours spent at the hall. Those with the goal of earning more than $10,000 over three years must commit an hour of volunteer time for each $1,000, with at least 25 per cent of that spent at the bingo hall and the rest devoted to promoting the organization. The CPC also raised concern about diminishing direct access funding. But Briere said that's a side issue not related to how much charities get from that program, administered by the provincial government. Moreover, he said it's linked to casino revenue, not bingo revenue. As for concern a gaming centre, and particularly the in-house restaurant, would take business away from neighbouring downtown establishments, Briere said it won't compete directly with traditional restaurants. "It will cater to the needs of the players that are there," he said. "We're not necessarily going to be drawing from outlying restaurants." The CPC also pointed to figures showing the strategy behind community gaming centres -- to revive bingo -- is backfiring. The centre in Williams Lake, where there is no casino, reported a 10-per-cent drop in bingo playing in the first year, but a 20-fold increase in revenue, the CPC noted. As well, Kelowna and Kamloops reported a drop of five-to-seven-per-cent in bingo playing over their first three months of operation, but an overall increase in business. However, Briere said those findings are consistent with a North America-wide trend and does not show whether such centres may have the desired effect over the long term. The centres, he added, are meant to develop a new clientele and revive interest in bingo in the process. -- See PROPOSAL on page 3

Rural residents to pay for police
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff The provincial government plans to start billing people living in rural areas for police services based on the assessed value of their property starting in 2007 and the tax will show up as a separate item on property tax notices. Details for the Fraser-Fort George Regional District are still to be worked out, but across the province, the levy should work out to $75 per year for the average residential property owner. That said, Solicitor General John Les said Tuesday the average will range from as little as $27 in Hudson's Hope to a few hundred dollars for people living in small communities around the Lower Mainland because of their higher assessments. "For many of the communities in northern British Columbia, $75 would certainly be the maximum," Les said. In addition to charging rural residents, municipalities with less than 5,000 people will be responsible for 50 per cent of policing costs in their communities. Currently, neither those living in small municipalities nor in electoral areas pay for policing through their property tax. Communities with 5,000 or more have been responsible for 70 per cent of their policing costs and once the population is over 15,000, it's 90 per cent. At nearly $16 million, policing is by far the largest single cost for the City of Prince George, accounting for about 25 per cent of this year's property tax levy. Les said the move is being made to more evenly spread the burden of paying for policing and to ease the transition for the smaller towns as their populations approach 5,000. "Arguably everyone benefits from the police presence that we have in British Columbia," Les said. "And it has long been a real irritant as communities move over that 5,000 population threshold. Many of them go through a great deal of angst." Asked if rural residents will see increased policing as a result, Les said it's fair to say they already do. "We, just a year ago, announced an additional $125 million a year for additional policing," he said. "In the last couple of years, we've had the largest expansion of police resources in a generation and that coupled with increasing integration of policing resources I think is leading to more visible policing in communities." Legislation should be ready by the spring 2007 sitting of the legislature, Les said, but will be effective retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007. In the interim, there will be more consultation particularly with the regional municipal associations and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. -- See DISTRICT on page 3

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

AT THE WHEEL -- Linden Sandhu, 2, took advantage of Tuesday's warm weather to go for a drive along Ferry Avenue in his battery-operated car.

High : 15 Low : 3 page 2

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . . 26 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .22-24 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . .3,5,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .19-21 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . 17 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,15

Conservatives unveil agenda Hockey Day declared for Fridays
OTTAWA (CP) -- Stephen Harper used his Conservative government's first throne speech to set a course toward a more flexible federalism, greater respect for Quebec and smoother relations with "our best friend" the United States. The prime minister also used Tuesday's speech to reiterate his firm intention to keep Canadian troops in Afghanistan to "defend our national interests." And moving to fulfil an election promise, he served notice that Chinese-Canadians can expect a formal apology -- and possibly financial compensation-- for the notorious immigration head tax they once endured. For good measure, Harper also hinted that Senate reform is on the way, although he stopped short of any hard and fast promises about when exactly he will transform the upper chamber. The commitments, outlined in a concise, 11-page speech entitled Turning a New Leaf, came on top of the five key priorities he has been hammering home since the election: accountability, patient wait times, crime, child care cash, and a GST cut. Carefully crafted with an eye to the Tories' minority status, the agenda drew the usual complaints of vagueness from opposition MPs. But neither the Liberals, the New Democrats nor the Bloc
CP photo

Members of the Conservative caucus applaud Prime Minister Stephen Harper after Governor General Michaelle Jean read the Throne Speech on Tuesday in the House of Commons.
Quebecois levelled any immediate threats to vote down Harper's government in its first critical test of confidence. -- See TORIES on page 3

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by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff The city is backing the effort to win CBC's Hockeyville contest. On Monday, Mayor Colin Kinsley declared every Friday from now through to June 9 Hockey Day in Prince George and is encouraging everyone to wear a hockey jersey on Fridays. Tracy Calogheros, part of an eight-member committee organizing the local push for the title, applauded the move. -- See FINALISTS on page 3

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