Here is something to seriously consider,
If someone in your family or someone that you personally know, Gets caught up in the ever growing addiction of"Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs)
You now know beyond a shadow of a doubt what type of help or support you will be getting from Both Parties on this issue as was basically performed at the "House Of (Your) Representatives In the City Of Fredericton In This Province of New Brunswick on January 11th 2006. during a remembrance of those who have died for the benefit of this Province from the profits of Video Lottery Terminals.
If your interested in my view of this then by all means read on………….
Charlie, I would just like to thank you very much for your observation of the MLA’s from BOTH parties.
I agree with you 100%. I pondered that thought on the way home last night for the whole drive on the bus.
People within many of these Elected Officials ridings have lost their lives because they reached a crossroad in their life over VLT addiction through community exploitation.
Simply because this was so powerful it out weighed the Human natural will to live and to suffer from this addiction with the absolute chaos of what they now considered their reality.
With their only option being to end their sentence they have been given because it was just too severe to survive and with nowhere to go in their communities to get away from this new found horror that has overcome and consumed them.
With no representation and recognition from these members to those communities,these families must now come to the understanding that these very people (MLAs) who are supposed to be protecting those families best interests for their safety and security did not even come out in their own front yard (Legislature) to pay their Respects for your loved ones?!
These People will continue to have no representation and shall remain nameless Victims of Society.
These very families that their MLA’s are sworn into office to serve and protect in their best interests.
Those some of those very members who every time you ask them separately how they feel about this issue will tell you “not only that Responsible Regulations are long overdue like the rest of us already know, but have gone further to say that their personal feelings are, Video Lottery Terminals should be totally scrapped "period".
A few who have said this very publicly more than once are as follows:
Mr. Roly MacIntyre Lib/S.J.
Mr. Stuart Jameson Lib/S.J.
Dr. Edward Doherty Lib/S.J.
Mr. Abel Leblanc Lib/S.J.
Mr. Mike Murphy Lib/Mctn.
Mr. Donald Arsenault Lib/Dalhousie
Among others whose names escape me at this time in the Liberal Party.
There are also a few Conservatives who have said Responsible Regulation is the proper way to go such as:
Mr. Tanker Malley Con/Miramichi
Mr. Claude Williams Con/Kent South
Mr. Jody Carr Con/Oromocto
Mrs. Margret Anne Blaney-Con-Saint John Kings
And again a few others whose names escape me at this time in the Conservative Party.
So in light of this, for not one member to come forth with a sign of respect basically tells me that these members feel confident enough in their position that there is no need to acknowledge these peoples loss of a loved one due to a Government run exploitation program and are under the belief they will suffer no recourse in the next election due to their inaction and public response to this issue.
They will seem to want to continue to totally ignore these Families concerns as soon as they go back to the Legislature with no representation or respect what so ever.
My reality of this situation is now such that---
If I have a death in my family because of an addiction to VLT’s and I have the full knowledge there is a growingly strong opposition to this disease across this entire country for what it really is, as well as the effects it is having here in New Brunswick and that there are changes taking place because of the public and political full awareness of this runaway disease and the death toll it is taking within society.
I will quickly find out that my representative had turned his or her back for the money over the best interests of my community and a member of my Family without a second glance, And totally dismiss my family’s grief as something that just happens or at most a, “ Gee I’m sorry it happened to you ”, attitude
And finish off with, “ I’ve got other things to do and more important issues with precedence over a death in your Family ”
I think that would be almost enough to push me too, over the edge to come to the realization that our Representatives are that far removed socially from their people where security was to be in place for such a crisis.
To think that an Elected Official that has been sworn into office to act in our best interests and to represent dignity and respect with good ideals would just shrug you off at your time of need is beyond one’s comprehension.
I would be outraged at the member of my District if him or her ever just decided to be as arrogant as to passively decide my loved one was not an important enough life or Vote including my entire family's vote for that matter And an attitude of oh well this won’t be noticed by the public over all, So I’ll still come out smelling pretty good, maybe even GREAT if I take a quick second to say from a distance that I care.
This is an unbelievable turn of events for this province to openly see the complete lack of respect and or dignity we are currently receiving from our representatives, which has now been witnessed by viewers from all over the Maritimes while these changes are being implemented in their provinces as those governments could see no other recourse but to take immediate action to fix this problem.
This is a very shameful time in New Brunswick’s history indeed, when our elected officials decide to turn their backs on us for the sake of a "corrupt cash cow" that is literally stripping our municipalities of Millions of Dollars each and every year along with lives lost and show absolutely no remorse or empathy toward repairing this disparity through Responsibly Regulating Video Lottery Terminals and save the lives of our loved ones.
I can Honestly and Openly say I am truly ashamed of my Government and my Province for it’s inaction and its ice-hearted response to a solution for this disastrous VLT program as it is with no regard for life.
And to not even acknowledge a moment of respect for those who have paid this province with their life.
I am going to get started immediately to take this issue to the next level.
This will take some time but it will definitely open the eyes of our politicians to the reality of this disease and changes are needed now before one more life is lost to a Video Lottery Terminals.
Implementation of Responsible Regulations must take place now.
And finally to those of you who have been totally and directly disgraced and disrespected by your members of Government, Please remember this, Next year is an Election year and lest we forget the human loss and insurmountable pain you must feel from this non-action, you do have the power to stand tall and make a difference in this disgraceful government performance.
So change your vote and make a difference in your community in the next election.
Demand the respect you so deserve.
May God bless you and your Family on your loss and comfort you through your changes.
Respectfully Yours
Timothy Smith Saint John N.B.
Charles here....I'm going to post all photos I took during Tim's day of protest!!!
7 comments:
Great Article Bro`
VLT anti-gambling features aren't having much effect, study says
Friday, January 13, 2006 Posted at 5:49 PM EST
Canadian Press
Edmonton — An Alberta government-funded study suggests that features built in to video lottery terminals to help gamblers control their play aren't having much effect.
The study -- the first of its kind -- throws doubt on how effectively the features change gambling behaviour.
Researcher Harold Wynne says he found that while an on-screen money counter helped gamblers track their spending, the features don't seem to change the amount of time or money they spent on the machines.
Mr. Wynne cautions that the results are the first part of a longer, five-year project expected in 2007.
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Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia are experimenting with machines that incorporate so-called "responsible gaming features."
Alberta Gaming says the government is encouraged that VLT users are highly aware of the features.
But spokeswoman Robyn Cochrane says the province will need the results of the entire study before drawing any final conclusions.
Interesting 7:29 and here is another one--
NB Telegraph-Journal | Canada
As published on page A7 on January 14, 2006
Electronic warnings on VLTs don't change gambling behaviour:
report:By Bob Weber
Canadian Press
EDMONTON - The first scientific study on electronic warnings built into video lottery terminals to help people control their gambling indicates the features are having limited success at best.
"The science of this suggests that there isn't really much evidence that (responsible gaming features) are having an effect, in the sense that they are decreasing time and the amount of money spent on VLTs," says Harold Wynne. He's one of the co-authors of the report, which was funded by the Alberta government.
At least three provinces are experimenting with VLTs incorporating "responsible gaming features."
In 2003, Alberta Gaming began to introduce new machines with four such features: a clock showing length of play, a counter showing how much in dollars of the gambler's money was in the machine, pop-up reminders of time spent and a banner giving a 1-800 help-line number.
Those features are now on all VLTs in Alberta. But the study throws doubt on how effectively they have changed behaviour.
Researchers interviewed 165 VLT users both before and after the introduction of the machines, between May 2003 and January 2004.
They found most gamblers were aware of the features, but relatively few took advantage of them. Fewer than 10 per cent ever used the pop-up time reminders, while 20 per cent used the clock.
Thirty per cent used the money counter as a gambling control strategy, the best result for any of the features.
The money counter was found to be somewhat effective at tracking gambling expenses by two-thirds of the players. And 60 per cent of interviewees reported the counter caused them to stop playing, cash out or leave the bar at least once.
Still, overall gambling behaviour didn't seem to change.
"Players continued to spend the same amount of money regardless of whether they played the new VLTs or continued to play the old VLTs," the report says. Gamblers lost about $90 per VLT session, whether they were on new machines or old.
Nor was there evidence that the features caused people to play less often or for shorter periods.
Mr. Wynne cautions the results are the first in a five-year project.
"It's going to be some time before we know what, if any, long-term effects these (features) had."
Alberta Gaming spokeswoman Robyn Cochrane said the government was encouraged that VLT users had a high level of awareness about the features.
"There seems to be some promise with the counter," she said. "People seem to be responding that it's an effective way of helping them keep track."
Ms. Cochrane said the government will need the results of the entire study before drawing final conclusions.
Mr. Wynne said helping users control their use of VLTs has become a hot issue within the gambling industry. "In virtually all jurisdictions around the world, there are efforts to add features to the machines to help people control their play."
Manitoba and Nova Scotia are also experimenting with VLTs that have similar features built into them.
Both provinces are conducting studies on the effectiveness of those features. Ms. Cochrane said Alberta will compare its reports with those results.
As more research is done into what works and what doesn't, VLTs could be fine-tuned to make them less addictive, Mr. Wynne said.
An earlier Alberta study found more than 60 per cent of people who play the machines either have a gambling problem or are at risk of developing one.
The province earns more than $700 million a year from VLTs.
In light of all arguements out there for and against the addiction of VLTs, I believe Tim Smith is right on the mark.
It is time for responsible regulation on vlt rules.
Sometimes it takes a family love one to lose their life or have a tragedy to shake people to reality and sometimes people will finally get it. Hope it doesnot take that long. Good job Tim. Praying for the politicians to wake up and finally see they just don't care and we know it and won't put up with them.
one good thing you now have at the very least is Bernard Richard showing up to support you and tim smith as you arrived if that is the case.
he himself may not be able to do much politicly but his appearance to wish you both well at first light certainly shows that he is interested in the direction of your protest is trying to go.
he also represents the average citizens of this province without political ambitions.
good for him for standing behind your cause he can get the public going but to bad his coming by didn't make the papers or the local news.
Tim, your doing a great job on the foot work and getting the word out as far as the media but you need a writer.
You know exactly what your talking about but it tends to be all over the place.
Try to be more to the point without straying too far off the subject.
If you can harness this you will be more effective.
keep up the pressure and good luck
Tim you did a good job on talk of the town this morning.
The govenment makes it up as thery go along pretty well says it all in New Brunswick these days
I'm glad to hear more people are starting to listen to the arguements against this issue you had a bit of support this morning from a few callers and if I'm not stretching it too far I would say rick sounded like he was leaning your way as well. good job keep it up.
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