In other words, I didn’t find out right away about the throwaway comment from Premier Danny Williams on VOCM’s “Open Line” that he personally didn’t support the idea of having the Atlantic Lottery Corporation run an Internet-based gambling business in this province. I also missed Williams’ glib pronouncement that, essentially, he was but one person at the cabinet table, and cabinet would be the body to decide whether the Internet scheme would go ahead.
Now, leave aside the strange phenomenon we have in this province of premiers going on open-line shows to simply drop pearls of government policy direction, and instead have a look at the curious position that Williams has now put the remainder of his cabinet in.
British Columbia was the first province to announce that it was going to find its way into the lucrative world of running online poker games through its provincial lottery corporation. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) came next, followed by Ontario. Essentially, the poker games — and other offerings — would be software-limited to residents of the particular provinces involved, and the lottery corporations, highlighting “responsible” gambling, would find some way to keep the gambling-addicted and underaged users off their systems. In other places, it’s been cast as the good guys taking over a bad business from the bad guys. It raises, of course, the question of whether government would make a better pimp or narcotic-pusher than the ordinary criminal element as well, but that’s probably for another Throne Speech, where we can become Masters of Our Own Downfall (TM).
While the ALC is very much on side, individual Atlantic provinces have to decide whether they want to “protect” their particular populaces from evil online gambling sites. Despite being very much up to speed on how much money the province would make from the Internet gambling business, cabinet ministers like Finance Minister Tom Marshall have been keen to point out that the system isn’t a done deal here yet. (Given the repeated pitch about the millions of dollars that are just around the corner, you could call it a good bet.)
But the Williams comments are a bit of a curveball. You can honestly argue that there are few in the Williams government — heck, few even in the cabinet — with a big enough reputation to form a Tory government or marshall the required votes in the absence of the big guy.
Now, the big guy says he’s against Internet gambling, and wouldn’t vote to support the plan in cabinet — meaning that, if it goes ahead, either Williams was blowing smoke, or his fellow cabinet ministers decided to out-vote their boss.
In other words, Williams has essentially taken himself out of the play if the lottery corporation’s Internet betting goes ahead — leaving any potential egg for other faces at the cabinet table.
If the Internet wagering does go ahead, Williams has basically said it’s not his fault — it’s the fault of the other cabinet members, who, as a result of rules of cabinet confidentiality and cabinet solidarity, wouldn’t even be able to say what the discussion at the table was, or how they personally voted on the issue.
Once a cabinet decision is made, all cabinet members are supposed to support the decision, despite any personal misgivings. And they have to button their lips to boot. Or is that to butt?
So does that mean that the proposal is dead, as far as this province is concerned?
Depends.
Depends how much we end up needing the money later on, and how successful other provinces are at their versions of the same scheme. It’s remarkable how often a gap of a couple of years takes the curse off the sins of others.
But in a world where Premier Williams really was just one more voice at the cabinet table, he’s done a remarkable job of completely undercutting anyone else’s position.
Russell Wangersky is The Telegram’s
editorial page editor. He can be contacted at rwanger@thetelegram.com.
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