30-Jun-06. Board wants best for students. Calgary Sun, 15.

In this guest column, Calgary Catholic School Board chair Cathie Williams explains the position of the board of trustees on fundraising using gambling events. She notes that, in a 1998 pastoral letter entitled The False Eden of Gambling, the Bishops of Alberta do not indicate that gambling is evil but they do express a concern for compulsive or addicted gamblers. The various recommendations in the board’s fundraising action plan permit schools to fundraise through bingos and casinos while addressing prevention and treatment of gambling addiction.

30-Jun-06. Seemed like a fun wager at the time. Edmonton Journal, I3.

The author of this opinion-style article considers why some people seem to be able to gamble as a form of harmless entertainment while others develop gambling-related problems. Professor Garry Smith of the University of Alberta suggests that there may be a variety of factors which include such things as brain chemistry and learned behaviour. He says that problem gamblers are usually depressed, emotionally distant people who think about gambling all the time and often sacrifice their relationships to their addiction.

28-Jun-06. Holy Spirit board doesn’t fundraise through casinos. Lethbridge Herald, A5.

Recent headlines related to the Catholic church’s stand in southern Alberta on gambling as a source of school fundraising will not have an effect on Lethbridge. In Lethbridge, Holy Spirit Schools board chairman Ken Tratch says that his schools don’t do any casino fundraising. The issue has previously been discussed at the board level and with parents and is was agreed that fundraising of that nature would send the wrong message.

24-Jun-06. Via Rail offers casino car on train to Niagara Falls. Red Deer Advocate, C2.

A summertime rail service from Toronto to Niagara Falls, Ontario includes a “casino car” which is wrapped on the outside to look like a giant slot machine. Passengers in the car can learn to play blackjack and poker from a Fallsview Casino Resort dealer. No actual gambling involving money will take place.

28-Jun-06. Texas hold ’em camp for children folds after B.C. ups the ante. Globe and Mail, A1.

The organizers of a summer camp to teach children to be winning poker players have abandoned the event because of pressure from the Province of British Columbia. Solicitor-General John Les amended the B.C. gaming regulations this week to force businesses that teach children how to gamble to be licensed.

28-Jun-06. Bettor options. Calgary Sun, 2.

Calgary Catholic school board chair Cathie Williams yesterday urged principals and parents to find revenue sources other than casinos and bingo nights but said they may need time to find other fundraising sources. The board will allow schools to continue to hold fundraising events in gambling establishments for the time being.

28-Jun-06. Board extends olive branch to bishop. Calgary Herald, B1.

Calgary Catholic school board chairwomen Cathie Williams says public reaction has been split over trustees’ decision allowing parent councils to raise money through gambling. She also wants to meet with Bishop Fred Henry to find a resolution to the dispute.

27-Jun-06. School board taking big gamble. Calgary Sun, 5.

This opinion piece suggests that anyone familiar with Calgary Bishop Fred Henry would not be surprised with his comment that his prime responsibility as bishop is to confront moral evil. The author says that Henry speaks as someone who knows he is fighting on firm ground. The bishop is demanding that the Calgary Catholic School District board toe the theological line.

27-Jun-06. Bishop raises betting stakes. Calgary Sun, 5.

Bishop Fred Henry says he may bar priests from Catholic schools that continue to defy his demand to stop using gambling revenue to fund classrooms. Henry had previously said he will not preside over the Calgary Catholic School District’s opening mass because of the board’s decision to continue bingo and casino fundraising activities, which generate roughly $2-million per year.

27-Jun-06. ‘I’m asking them to confront a moral evil’. Calgary Herald, B1.

At a press conference on Monday, Calgary’s Bishop Fred Henry said he first asked the Calgary Catholic School District to wean itself from casino gambling seven years ago. Since then, his diocese, his parishes, the Catholic Women’s League, the Knights of Columbus and most Alberta school districts have renounced gambling revenue. Henry said it is his job as a bishop to ask his followers to confront a moral evil. He remained vague on what blacklisting might mean for casino-dependent schools but added that he will personally boycott any school where the parent council insists on raising gambling revenue.

27-Jun-06. Calgary bishop puts cards on the table. Edmonton Sun, 18.

Bishop Fred Henry says he may bar priests from Catholic schools that continue to defy his demand to stop using gambling revenue to fund classrooms. Henry had previously said he will not preside over the Calgary Catholic School District’s opening mass because of the board’s decision to continue bingo and casino fundraising activities, which generate roughly $2-million per year.

26-Jun-06. That gambling fever. Globe and Mail, A14.

This editorial supports the stand taken by Calgary Roman Catholic Bishop Frederick Henry against the Catholic School District using gambling as a source of fundraising for schools. The Calgary board serves 44,000 students and has a proposed budget of $346-million for the next year. The $2-million generated from casinos and bingos help pay for drama, school bands, athletics and field trips.

26-Jun-06. Bishop’s casino stand cheered. Calgary Herald, B1.

Parishioners who attended Sunday morning mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral expressed support for Bishop Fred Henry’s stand against Catholic schools using casinos and bingos to raise money.

25-Jun-06. Catholics like casino bucks. Edmonton Sun, 7.

An Edmonton Catholic school board trustee says that Edmonton parents are not ready to give up casino fundraisers just because the church frowns on gambling. Edmonton Archbishop Thomas Collins says that using gambling to raise school funds is immoral but he hasn’t threatened schools with cessation of Catholic services. Nearly all of the board’s 84 schools host casino fundraisers about once every two years according to Edmonton Catholic board chairman Debbie Cavaliere.

24-Jun-06. Bishop gets our attention. Edmonton Sun, 7.

Edmonton’s Catholic school board will meet next week to discuss the future of school-sponsored casino fundraisers, following recent threats by Calgary Bishop Fred Henry to blacklist schools that continue the practice. Unlike Henry, Edmonton Archbishop Thomas Collins is not threatening schools but is opposed to raising money through gambling. Like problem gamblers, Collins said organizations like schools can become addicted to gambling.

24-Jun-06. Casino-backers’ faith questioned. Calgary Sun, 5.

St. Mary’s Cathedral Rector Father Larry Bagnall said that Catholics who support gambling to fund classrooms are betraying their faith. In defending Bishop Fred Henry’s pastoral letter condemning the board’s decision to allow casino and bingo fundraising, Bagnall said there can be no compromise. Sanctioning gambling, said Bagnall, is akin to enabling alcoholics.

24-Jun-06. Almighty dollar. Calgary Sun, 5.

This editorial suggests that Calgary Catholic school board is unsuccessfully attempting to reap the benefits of fundraising using gambling events without fully considering the moral obligation that it requires. The Board’s attempts to rationalize this activity involve contributing 5 per cent of gambling-related proceeds to the treatment of problem gamblers. The author says that the Bishop has a reputation of standing up for his faith and that he is unlikely to be swayed on this issue.

24-Jun-06. Gambling edict splits schools. Calgary Herald, B1.

As Calgary Catholic schools defy an order from Bishop Fred Henry this week to abolish gambling-based fundraising, Lethbridge schools vow they will continue to follow his edict. Lethbridge is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary led by Henry. David Keohane, superintendent of the Holy Spirit Catholic School District which encompasses Lethbridge and surrounding area, says Henry’s position reflects that taken in a position paper called The False Eden of Gambling, backed by Alberta’s bishops as a group.

23-Jun-06. The bishop’s principled stand. Calgary Herald, A28.

This editorial discusses Calgary bishop Fred Henry’s warning to the Calgary Catholic school board to stop raising funds through casino and bingo nights. The author notes that, though the estimated $2-million in revenue from the fundraisers is useful, it is morally at odds with the teachings of the church. The bishop is also urged to provide leadership in suggesting a creative solution to the cash shortfall that bedevils the Catholic board.

23-Jun-06. Board tests bishop’s ban. Calgary Sun, 3.

Board chair Cathie Williams said that Calgary’s Catholic School Board will move ahead with fundraising using bingos and casinos despite a threat from Bishop Fred Henry to strike schools’ Catholic designation. Yesterday, board officials met with school principals to discuss their decision to go ahead with gambling fundraisers that bring in more than $2-million a year. Williams said the district is not in defiance of Henry’s role as ultimate authority, but insisted the board and students’ parents have a right to make such decisions.

23-Jun-06. Catholic bishop says all bets are off. Globe and Mail, A9.

Calgary’s influential Roman Catholic bishop has issued a damning indictment of the local school board’s decision to continue to use gambling as a source of fundraising for its cash-strapped schools. Bishop Fred Henry sent a letter to each of the 97 schools in the Catholic Schools District this week that threatened blacklisting of schools that engage in this type of fundraising. University of Alberta professor and gambling researcher Garry Smith said the bishop’s position is extreme but his public stand on this issue should be credited as courageous.

21-Jun-06. Gamblers wanted for university research. Lethbridge Herald, A1.

Gambling researchers at three Alberta universities are testing various hypotheses about the nature of gambling as part of a five-year study. University of Lethbridge professors Robert Williams and Rob Wood are two of seven researchers involved in the investigation. The study, which started in January, has signed up 1,000 participants but another 1,000 are needed.

22-Jun-06. Provincewide study to focus on habits of gamblers. Edmonton Journal, B5.

A group of Alberta researchers will be monitoring 2,000 people as part of a study that is described as being a worldwide first. The long-term follow-up study will focus on both social and problem gambling, looking at why people gamble, how much they gambling and what problems their gambling may cause. The findings will be used to formulate a better understanding of gambling, and could be used to find solutions to gambling problems and help develop policy.

22-Jun-06. Gambling researchers commence massive study. Calgary Herald, B5.

A group of Alberta researchers will be monitoring 2,000 people as part of a study that is described as being a worldwide first. The long-term follow-up study will focus on both social and problem gambling, looking at why people gamble, how much they gambling and what problems their gambling may cause. The findings will be used to formulate a better understanding of gambling, and could be used to find solutions to gambling problems and help develop policy.

22-Jun-06. U of C betting study will turn up answers. Calgary Sun, 10.

A one-of-a-kind study of gambling is taking place over the next five years at the University of Calgary. University of Calgary professor David Casey says that 2,000 people will be followed to see how social factors, genetics, family history, upbringing, financial situation, access, cultural context and personal circumstances affect gambling habits.

22-Jun-06. Ban on elder protest extended. Calgary Herald, B7.

A judge has extended a temporary injunction to indefinite against two of three elderly sisters who remain opposed to the construction of a casino west of Calgary on the Stoney reserve. Jamie MacVicar, who has been working with the Stoney residents opposed to the casino, said opponents will continue to protest the venture, but they cannot do it on the site at the junction of Highway 40 and the Trans-Canada.

22-Jun-06. Study aims to find answers on gambling addictions. Edmonton Sun, 34.

University of Calgary professor David Casey explains that a five-year, 2,000-person study will answer questions about gambling which previously has only been conjecture. The study will tackle what role social factors, genetics, family history, upbringing, financial situation, access, cultural context, and personal circumstances play in people’s gambling habits.

22-Jun-06. Go-ahead for casino. Calgary Sun, 10.

Construction on a controversial $27-million First Nation casino-hotel west of Calgary can proceed after a judge granted an injunction preventing protesters from interfering further. A lawyer for the Stoney Nakoda First Nation said that the court’s ruling may have a bearing on development projects for First Nations across Canada. Horner’s ruling makes an earlier court injunction barring protesters from the site permanent.

22-Jun-06. Bishop plays opening hand. Calgary Sun, 5.

Calgary Bishop Fred Henry sent a letter yesterday to schools that expressed his outrage over a Catholic School board decision to ignore his demand to stop using funds obtained from casino and bingo fundraising events. The letter noted that Henry will boycott the year-opening mass and threatened that schools who continue to use this fundraising method will be blacklisted.

18-Jun-06. U.S. considers restrictions on Internet gambling. Red Deer Advocate, A18.

This article discusses Internet wagering in the United States which is a $12-billion (US) industry in which politics, morals, profits, individual rights and world trade issues merge and sometimes collide. The U.S. House of Representatives is likely to vote this week on legislation aimed at countering Americans’ ability to place bets online via their computers. Meanwhile, the American Gaming Association is urging Congress to study the online gambling issue to see whether there are ways to legalize, regulate and tax this activity.

11-Jun-06. One man’s crusade. Edmonton Sun, 16.

This article profiles anti-gambling proponent Johannes DeViet who is the head of Canada’s Gambling Watch Network. He distributes via email a weekly anti-gambling newsletter to over 1,400 people across the country. The newsletter mainly passes along recent newspaper stories about gambling.

8-Jun-06. Poker player antes up. Calgary Sun, 6.

This newsbrief reports that Daryl Giesbrecht of Medicine Hat pleaded guilty this week to operating an illegal gambling house. He was ordered to pay a $6,100 fine for not having a licence. His defence lawyer said the poker league was set up after the Medicine Hat Casino stopped running poker games.

8-Jun-06. No more casinos in the cards for Calgary. Calgary Sun, 2.

Alberta Gaming Minister Gordon Graydon said that no further Calgary-area casinos are likely to be approved in the foreseeable future. Graydon noted that Calgary, with six operating casinos and plans for a seventh, is at the casino saturation point for a city of its size. He also said that the $44-million Stampede Casino, which will open in 2008, is not considered a new facility as it will replace the old casino.

7-Jun-06. House always wins. Medicine Hat News, A1.

A man pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling house in Medicine Hat Provincial court on Tuesday. Daryl Giesbrecht was ordered to pay a fine of $6,100 for not having a licence for the Medicine Hat Poker League that he and some friends established two years ago to have a place to play Texas Hold’em. Special Crown prosecutor Vaughan Hartigan said although the League wasn’t put in place to make money, it broke the Alberta Gaming laws because the league wasn’t registered with the department.

2-Jun-06. Saskatchewan to ease charities’ gambling rules. Globe and Mail, A10.

This newsbrief reports that the Saskatchewan government will soon allow charitable organizations to raise money by holding poker tournaments and gaming nights. The relaxed rules are part of a strategy to help charities, which have struggled in recent years because of declines in gaming-related revenues.

1-Jun-06. Study focuses on distress of gamblers’ loved ones. Calgary Herald, B7.

University of Calgary PhD student Nicole Peden is testing an approach that will use one-on-one support to improve the lives of problem gamblers’ loved ones. The study is called Community Reinforcement and Family Training. It will compare findings with a study undertaken in 2001 involving self-help manuals. In the current study, half of the 48 participants will receive a self-help workbook and the other half will work with a therapist.

1-Jun-06. Parents left with gambling decision. Calgary Herald, B3.

The Calgary Catholic School District will allow parents at its 97 schools to make their own decisions on whether they should fundraise though gambling sources such as casinos and bingos. Trustees voted 4-2 Wednesday night to leave the choice up to parent councils. Those groups choosing to rely on gambling events will be required to donate five per cent of profits to a charity which deals with the treatment of gambling addictions.

1-Jun-06. Catholic schools keep bets on. Calgary Sun, 4.

Calgary Catholic school board trustees voted 4-2 last night in favour of continuing to use gambling revenues from casino and bingo nights to fund school programs. Last year, Calgary Bishop Fred Henry asked all Catholic organizations in the city to stop using casinos and bingos as a source of fundraising revenue.

1-Jun-06. Study proving to be a gamble. Calgary Sun, 16.

University of Calgary researchers are finding that recruiting family members of gambling addicts for a research investigation is proving difficult. PhD student Nicole Peden noted that posters and classified ads designed to attract 48 test subjects have yet to elicit any interest. The research team has already produced a self-help manual for concerned family members of problem gamblers but feedback suggests more guidance is needed.

31-May-06. No love-in for Cirque’s casino. Globe and Mail, B2.

The Cirque du Soleil’s decision to pull out of a controversial $1.2-billion casino complex in Montreal has caused those involved to point fingers of blame. Cirque has billed itself as a socially progressive business and it is thought that involvement in the casino project might damage its reputation. CEO Guy Lalibere suggested that systematic protest is becoming and trend in Montreal and he feel this is unfortunate.