"A big victory" — that's how the head of Unifor Local 444 is describing Canada's single sports betting bill being passed in the Senate Tuesday.
Dave Cassidy says Bill C-218 will create as many as 150 new jobs at Caesars Windsor when its sports book is up and running.
He says Windsor West MP Brian Masse deserves a big thanks for pushing the bill forward.
"What it means to us is it really means jobs. It's remarkable what happened. I'd be remised if I didn't thank nobody more than Brian and my local union from the vice president to our chair people," he says. "Everybody involved knows how much we've worked on this file to try to get it across the finish line."
Cassidy says the bill is long overdue.
"It's just great news for us and now we're going to be able to compete against U.S. markets," he says. "Here's a sector that has really been severely hit by COVID, the hospitality and gaming industry, and this will be a ray of sunshine."
Cassidy says this will provide a much needed boost when the casino reopens.
"With the COVID numbers going down, we should be opened up to the 50 per cent capacity. We've got to get people back to work. We've got to get this economy rolling. Our numbers show that we should be coming back to work. We've got to make sure that we keep the push on to get those doors open," he adds.
The bill passed by a vote of 57 to 20 and now awaits Royal Assent to become law.
Former Windsor-Tecumseh MP Joe Comartin first introduced the single sports betting private members bill back in 2011.