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Brandon, First Nations group consider casino in city
Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst, left, Allan McLeod, president and CEO of Tribals Council Investment Group (centre) and TCIG community business development manager Frank Turner during an interview in the city council chambers on Wednesday evening. (COLIN CORNEAU/THE BRANDON SUN)
BRANDON -- The City of Brandon has partnered with a First Nations business group to examine the financial case for a casino development inside city limits.
Through what the city calls an "unprecedented partnership," the agreement in principle pairs the Tribal Councils Investment Group — the business arm of seven Tribal Council groups representing 55 of Manitoba’s 61 First Nations bands — and the municipal government with the intent of building a casino on city-owned land.
"We have an agreement to work together and there’s a whole lot of questions on the list that over the course of time we’ll have to tick off," Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst said Wednesday, prior to this morning’s announcement of the partnership.
"We don’t know if this will be a viable business, so this is an early stage of the discussion… we need additional expertise and familiarity that the Tribal Council Investment Group brings to the table."
At this point, neither the City of Brandon or the Tribal Councils Investment Group have a casino or gaming licence for this venture, nor have conversations taken place with the province about the proposal. Details on a possible casino development in Brandon are in a very preliminary state. There is no announced plan for a building type, location or what type of casino development the two parties want to see.
Both parties will consult the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the provincial government, but those talks have not yet been held.
"Our relationship with this city goes back years," said Allan McLeod, CEO and managing director of the Tribal Councils Investment Group. "We have quietly owned the Wok Box restaurant here and we have also owned a vending machine business that’s been around for a number of years. We are already part of the community. There should be comfort in the fact we are already doing business here. We think this is right up our skill set."
Decter Hirst said when the subject of a casino in Brandon came up in a conversation with Premier Greg Selinger 18 months ago, the premier asked her if the city government was still interested in a casino.
"I said absolutely, and that the city has to always look at economic development opportunities," Decter Hirst said.
The agreement also has backing through an Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs resolution that directs the Tribal Councils Investment Group to pursue a casino development as far back as 2009, McLeod said.
- Brandon Sun
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