Following other provinces, Ontario will now also reopen its casino properties as the province moves into Stage 3 of its reopening plan. Great Canadian Gaming Corporation was quick to react to the news and revealed that it will be restarting 11 of its casinos in Ontario, as the province recovers from the unprecedented situation.
Great Canadian Gaming Corporation is an industry giant that has been established back in 1982 and owns and operates 26 gaming, entertainment, and hospitality properties in Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The company will now have most of its venues reopened after restarting operations in other provinces such as B.C. and Nova Scotia.
Stage 3
Ontario will enter Stage 3 of the reopening plan earlier than expected as the province will move into it on July 16. After being shut down in April, casinos now can reopen too, however, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation informed that all properties will start work under reduced capacity in order to maintain social distancing protocols and comply with the province’s health and safety framework.
The company will now launch 11 of its gaming properties in the province. The reopening ones are Casino Woodbine, Great Blue Heron Casino, Casino Ajax, Elements Casino Mohawk, Elements Casino Flamboro, Elements Casino Brantford, Elements Casino Grand River, Shorelines Casino Belleville, Shorelines Casino Peterborough, Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands, and Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs.
The gaming leader also announced that its Pickering Casino Resort will not reopen with the rest of the Ontario properties. Instead, the facility will restart operation in the near future, with the rest of the resort premises reopening later in 2022. The company’s renewal of operation in Ontario follows the one in British Columbia and in Nova Scotia.
B.C. Properties
Starting from July 1, 2021, the company was able to reopen its gaming properties in British Columbia as the province enter Stage 3 of the economic restart plan. The corporation renewed operations atRiver Rock Casino Resort, Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, Elements Casino Victoria, Elements Casino Surrey, Casino Nanaimo, Elements Casino Chilliwack, Hastings Racecourse, Chances Maple Ridge, and Chances Dawson Creek.
The company’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, Terrance Doyle commented on the B.C. reopening as he shared that the restart in the province comes as great news for the corporation as it is on its road to recovery from the global financial crisis. With the reopening of casinos in B.C. over 1,000 of the company’s staff members have now returned to their positions.
Contract Conflict
However, recently the gaming company has been involved in a controversy as former Casino Nanaimo workers have taken legal action against the company. The ex-staff members have filed individual class-action lawsuits against the corporation for wrongful dismissal during the casino closure in B.C. The claim stated that employees were cut off of benefits and did not receive banked vacation payments.
Source: “Great Canadian Gaming to reopen 11 casinos Friday as Ontario moves to Step 3” Global News, July 12, 2021
