The following letter was sent to the finance committee of the B.C. Legislature and submitted to the Driftwood for publication.

I hope that you fully restore B.C. Arts Council funding and substitute a new source of funding for the important social programs formerly supported by gaming grants.

Please avoid the Orwellian “newspeak” — gambling is not a game. It is an addictive and dangerous activity. It is also a highly corrosive influence on government.

You have lost your public licence to sponsor gambling. It has no value in our society. In fact, it has profound negative impacts. I know you feel that it is “easy money” and “a tax on the stupid,” but gambling produces no new wealth and it hurts society, families and individual addicts. You should be ashamed to promote such a harmful activity. I realize that the B.C. Liberals are not alone in this dangerous addiction to gambling revenues: as you know, two former NDP premiers (Mike Harcourt and Glen Clark) met their demise because of the corrupting influences of gambling in their entourage. It would be a pity if Mr. Campbell is likewise brought down by the same means.

Gambling is always a “lose-lose” proposition. Just because other jurisdictions like Alberta, Ontario and Nevada promote gambling and rely on the revenue does not mean that British Columbia should do likewise and it does not make gambling any less unsafe.

A number of valuable programs on Salt Spring have been devastated by the sudden cuts in the gaming grants — Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre and the Salt Spring Island Conservancy’s Stewards-in-Training schools program, to name but two. At the provincial level, I would like to mention the B.C. Arts Council and the B.C. Choral Federation, which also supports several Salt Spring choirs. They will learn to do without gambling dollars or perish in the attempt.

I trust that the B.C. Liberal government will likewise learn to do without gambling and find alternative sources to fund important social and environmental programs.

Jean Brouard,

Isabella Point