The Senate standing committee’s 1st period

For the second time in three weeks, your courier of all news and opinions around Bill C-218 spent an evening of dual-screen watching with one eye on Game 1 of the Jets-Canadiens NHL North Division final and the other eye (plus both ears) on the first virtual meeting of the Senate’s standing committee on banking, trade and commerce.

It’s the first of three meetings scheduled between last night and next Wednesday (June 9), a positive sign if you’re on the yay side of single-event sports wagering being given the green light in Canada before the Senate and House of Commons go on summer retreat at the end of June. Senator David Wells, the sponsor of C-218 in the Senate and a member of the standing committee, had a chat with Rod Smith on TSN’s SportsCentre earlier in the day and expressed cautious optimism about getting the bill through.

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The committee, which includes former CFL player, commissioner and executive Larry Smith heard from Canadian Gaming Association head honcho Paul Burns, current CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie (who may be wishing he’d sought Smith’s counsel before accepting the commish gig in 2017, but we digress), Chief Gina Deer and Chief Paul Montour from the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, and Saskatchewan Indigenous Gaming Authority head Zane Hansen. A few takeaways from the 100-minute session:

• Ambrosie called the legalization of online sports wagering across Canada a “once in a generation” revenue opportunity for the CFL at a time when the league lost the 2020 season and has fingers crossed it’ll at least have a shortened 2021 campaign. “We think we can attract new fans from all four corners of the country and from other parts of the world,” he said.
• The two chiefs from the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake reiterated their stance that while they support “the essence of Bill C-218”, the bill as proposed “fails to properly regard the rights and interests of Indigenous communities”, and they’re seeking amendments to address those concerns.
• In his address to the committee, Hansen echoed the comments of others about the bill being “an important piece of legislation” to help SIGA recover lost income from its province-wide casinos because of COVID-19 by “integrating sports gaming and bringing an enhanced experience to our customers”.
• Burns, responding to a question from deputy chair Sen. Pamela Wallin on the need to include an amendment to confirm match fixing as an illegal activity, told the committee there are already provisions in the Criminal Code that prohibit match fixing. Added Ambrosie about the CFL: “Our league’s constitution specifically provides for penalties up to life (suspension) if anyone is found to be involved in fixing a game.”
• Asked about timing on provinces dropping the puck on a licensed and regulated wagering offering, Burns said some would be ready by Labour Day. “By the fall, you’ll see jurisdictions having very robust operations,” he said.
• The committee also received a letter in support of the bill from Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannnabis.

As long as there’s cable (no comment from the Gen Z subscribers) and wifi, we’ll continue to multi-task and follow both the hockey and hearings.

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