Gaming bill moving through Senate

A gaming bill that was nixed when the federal election shuttered Parliament earlier this year is moving through the Senate once again, this time with input from the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK).

The MCK had originally opposed the bill, formerly known as S-268, because of concerns the bill’s changes to the Criminal Code to ostensibly aid First Nations’ exercise of land-based gaming rights could have done more harm than good, putting communities in a tough spot when exercising their jurisdiction in the online gaming sphere.

Kahnawake has earned millions of dollars from online gaming over the years, with Council eyeing opportunities to generate new revenues this way following the downfall of Mohawk Online, which went from money-making hero to zero in recent years.

The MCK has always taken the position that Kahnawake’s jurisdiction over gaming is absolute, with the government having no right to weigh in, let alone challenge it. However, clarifying ambiguities to outside entities can help Kahnawake pursue partnerships.

“It certainly helps to have those amendments being made directly in the Criminal Code from a commercial perspective,” said MCK chief Paul Rice, adding that Kahnawake doesn’t seek out recognition of its jurisdiction on gaming and doesn’t consider this bill to have any relevance to it.

“For us, our jurisdiction is not something that we need to prove as part of this bill, but it does level the playing field and allow us to be able to access every supplier and marketer and operator out there,” he said, arguing it eliminates a grey area for potential partners.

The bill, introduced by senator Scott Tannas and now known as S-241, was debated this week as part of its second reading in the Senate. There are still several hurdles to clear for the bill to become law, but so far, it’s on track this session.

If it passes second reading, it is expected to go to committee, which will bring it to the stage at which it was when Parliament was dissolved for the federal election.

“The Indigenous Peoples Committee held five meetings on the bill and heard from 16 witnesses, so we have a good start on the study of this particular subject, but there is a lot that remains to be explored at committee,” Tannas told his colleagues in the Senate chamber this week.

He said when gaming schemes were divvied up in the 1980s, First Nations were routinely ignored and left out of the picture, and he characterized his bill as a way to reverse this injustice.

“Since that time, First Nations governments have attempted to assert their right and jurisdiction in this area, citing Section 35 of the Constitution and backed by evidence that gaming and gambling have been part of Indigenous culture for millennia and, certainly, predate the arrival of and contact with European settlers,” Tannas said.

This echoes arguments the MCK has made that gaming rights extend to time immemorial.

“Successive generations of First Nations leaders and delegations have engaged with and been assured by ministers of the Crown that the federal government is working toward recognition of rights and jurisdiction of gaming on reserve lands,” Tannas told the Senate.

“Many years of soothing words to that effect have been heard by leaders and delegations. It has become clear that nothing is happening. Nobody is working toward anything on this issue. Why is that? Why is that in this era of reconciliation?”

It’s because it’s hard, he said, and because it will cost governments revenue. However, he cast this bill as a step toward economic reconciliation.

Rice said Kahnawake is supporting the new version of the bill because it has the potential not only to ease Kahnawake’s commercial endeavours, but because it may also empower other First Nations that are just getting started in this market.

Kahnawake has been a leader in working with a coalition of First Nations on ensuring the bill is done right, Rice said.

“That’s really what it’s more about, is standing shoulder to shoulder with these other nations,” he said, adding that some First Nations are getting shortchanged on revenues because of arrangements with provincial entities, which currently have outsized control over gaming.

“There’s a lot of innovative things happening in the industry,” Rice said. “We’ve long been a leader in gaming, and now we want to build up other nations, so they can also benefit economically from gaming.”

As for Kahnawake, this bill has the potential to address hesitations from some commercial entities that worry about the Criminal Code, and, with the changes, the MCK is glad to see it reintroduced.

“Gaming has long been an economic driver for Kahnawake. Own-source revenue is critical to our financial and economic independence and sovereignty,” said Rice.

In the face of federal cuts and provincial machinations, he said he thinks about what’s in store for future generations, including his own two kids, and the need to find ways for Kahnawake to take control of its economic destiny.

“Gaming is the number one industry in terms of own-source revenue for the Council, and we’re going to keep pushing,” he said.

“We’re going to keep pushing to make sure we’re in control of our collective future.”

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Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter