CMHR donation not casino’s first gift

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This article was published 12/08/2013 (4527 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The $1-million donation to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights marks the most generous gift South Beach Casino ever made to charity.

But since donations have been the only legal form of advertising open to the First Nations-owned casino, it’s far from the only one.

The casino has handed out $2.5 million since 2008 to a range of charities from Special Olympics to a food bank, a hospital and community clubs, in an effort to earn name recognition.

An agreement between the province and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs that set up the first casino on First Nations land restricted advertising — even on billboards — until recently, so charitable donations were the sole form of marketing open to the casino, South Beach Casino and Resort chairman Furlon Barker said.

“We did what we had to to make it a success,” he said.

That agreement is a private document signed between the province and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, but the basic contents are well-known, Barker said.

Questions about the donation surfaced last week after the museum refused to use the word “genocide” to describe Canada’s deplorable aboriginal history.

Some 70 per cent of annual profits are divided among the seven First Nations that are partners in the casino. The other 30 per cent is set aside for a trust fund to be divided among the rest of Manitoba’s First Nations. For the first five years, the agreement allowed the casino to waive its contributions, in order to pay off its start-up costs.

Operating expenses, including administration, marketing and charitable donations, and a 10 per cent share of VLT revenues paid to the province, are drawn from the 70 per cent share to the partners. Audits are strictly regulated and financial statements are filed annually with the Manitoba Gaming Control Commission.

A quick glance at the South Beach Casino website under the heading “community spirit” offers a list of every donation the casino has made. It shows the majority were made to well-established non-native charities, but makes no mention of AMC’s involvement in the $1 million donated to the human rights museum in 2009.

Barker, who was chairman at the time, said the money was drawn from the marketing fund, like all the other donations.

“All that money comes from South Beach, not AMC,” he said.

The casino works hard to keep politics out of its business. As a result, it enjoys an excellent working relationship with Manitoba Lotteries and believes the donation to the museum offered an opportunity for the casino to raise the profile of First Nations in Manitoba, Barker said.

Barker indicated the casino never expected the $1-million donation to leverage any political clout.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca