WHEREAS there is a great need for charitable organizations to find ways to raise funds to maintain and expand their operations in Alberta for the good of the residents of the Province of Alberta;AND WHEREAS this has become more difficult with the dissolution of Community Lottery Boards, which funded many worthwhile projects based on decisions of local need;AND WHEREAS Alberta charitable organizations operating in small urban or rural communities are currently required to work in casinos outside of the two major urban municipalities within the province;AND WHEREAS these many charitable organizations must bear the additional costs of travel and accommodation for workers to staff the casinos in centers that are further away from their home community;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to investigate a system of pooling, province-wide, all funds raised by charities that have worked a casino in that quarter;AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the AAMDC urge the Government of Alberta to review the boundaries set by Alberta Gaming controlling locations of casinos that charities may work at, and amend or remove these artificial boundaries so as to make the waiting periods between casino opportunities more equitable in all areas of the province.

The following information was obtained from the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission:City # of Casinos # of Charities Slotting Schedule Avg. Payout per Charity (2000/01)Edmonton 4 1,427 2nd Qtr. 2004 $44,700Calgary 4 1,154 4th Qtr. 2003 $55,200St. Albert 1 532 2nd Qtr. 2005 $22,900Lethbridge 1 382 2nd Qtr. 2004 $16,500Medicine Hat 1 170 1st Qtr. 2003 $17,800Ft. McMurray 1 70 3rd Qtr. 2002 $9,000Red Deer 2 572 4th Qtr. 2003 $14,900Grande Prairie 1 379 4th Qtr. 2003 $21,400 As evidenced by this table, there are 532 groups on the list to work at the St. Albert Casino. There is a three-year waiting list for St. Alberts next casino. The amount of money that can be earned in a casino such as St. Albert is approximately $20,000 to $25,000 over two days. This means that a charitable organization working at one of these casinos could earn $25,000 to last them three years.Conversely, groups that work in Edmonton casinos have the opportunity to gain a payout of approximately $45,000 to $50,000. The waiting list for the Edmonton casinos is one year shorter than the St. Albert Casino. Presently, all funds raised in the City of Edmonton and the City of Calgary casinos are pooled and distributed to their charities only on a quarterly basis.There is a real need for rural communities to access casino funding to be able to provide the programs and services needed. While rural communities recognize that there are larger numbers in the urban centres – a more focused population the needs of the rural communities are more difficult to meet without sufficient funding due to the distances involved and the lesser resources of other kinds. In particular, the loss of the Community Lottery Funds has been a major blow to rural charitable organizations.

The AAMDC has no resolutions currently in effect with respect to this matter.