No Safe Bet: Why Newfoundland & Labrador is Canada’s Casino Holdout
In 2010, when Colliers International was listing the Battery Hotel and Suites for $15 million, they dared buyers to imagine alternate usages for the property—even those that went against provincial policy. “Newfoundland is one of only two Canadian provinces that does not have a provincially approved casino,” Colliers said in a brochure. “If this highly interesting situation changes, the site is sufficiently large to accommodate a Class A casino and hotel.” “Our policy doesn’t permit casinos in the province,” then-finance minister Tom Marshall told reporters at the time. “There’s been no change in that policy.” When asked if he’d reconsider the policy if a casino application was submitted, he was unequivocal: “No.” By 2014, Marshall was premier and Charlene Johnson, then-finance minister, suggested to reporters that they might be willing to consider a good offer. Saying the government would review proposals stopped far short of saying they would be approved,…
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