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Ontario tribes reject revenue sharing deal19 June 2007TORONTO, Ontario -- As reported by the National Post: "Ontario's First Nation chiefs on Monday rejected a revenue-sharing deal with provincial lotteries and casinos that would have amounted to $2.5-billion in funding over 20 years. "Under the proposal, 133 aboriginal communities would have had their annual revenue share doubled to about $125-million through a percentage of gross revenues from all provincial gaming operations. The native groups currently receive gaming money from operations of Casino Rama in Orillia. "...The proposed agreement, which was put to a vote Monday, would have settled a series of lawsuits against the Ontario government that stem from the funding generated by the Orillia casino. A group of Ontario chiefs has challenged a 1996 decision by the former Conservative government that directed a cut of Casino Rama's profits into provincial coffers. The Rama operation was originally set up so that all revenues went to First Nations. "...The Ontario chiefs said they could not accept the final proposal because it contained provisions left out of an agreement in principle signed last year. These conditions included: abandoning their lawsuits against the province, giving up their interest in Casino Rama and having restrictions placed on the use of the funds, they said..." |