All Lottery Corp. jobs belong in Sault, mayor tells OLG brass

In a face-to-face meeting last week, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker told Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.'s croupier-in-chief that all OLG jobs belong in Sault Ste. Marie.

Duncan Hannay, OLG's president and chief executive officer, held a get-acquainted, in-person meeting with the new mayor on Thursday evening.

Earlier in the day, Shoemaker held a similar session via Zoom with Jim Warren, chair of the OLG board.

The mayor says he used the sessions to "reiterate the position I’ve long held, that all OLG jobs should be in the Sault."

"I would like to see the organization working toward that goal," Shoemaker told SooToday.

"The discussions were productive, and as a result of them, we do hope to get senior recruitment staff from the OLG together with recruitment staff from the city to brainstorm opportunities for joint recruitment or other possibilities that may come from the joint meeting."

In April 2018, when Shoemaker was a Ward 3 councillor, he tried to persuade the city council to make OLG jobs an issue in that year's provincial election.

A resolution drafted by Shoemaker and seconded by then-Coun. Ozzie Grandinetti called on the city to "send a letter to all three major provincial party leaders and to all three major provincial party candidates in the June 2018 provincial election seeking their position on moving every OLG job to Sault Ste. Marie if elected."

"If they're going to call this a headquarters, it's nonsensical to have two locations, one in Toronto and one in Sault Ste. Marie," Shoemaker said at the time.

Failing to have all OLG jobs here, he added, "is irresponsible with taxpayer's dollars and rescinds on the commitment that the government made to us in 1987 when they moved these jobs here."

Also in 2018, Hannay's predecessor, Stephen Rigby, committed to maintaining OLG staffing levels in the Sault over the next three years.

"Our plan is to continue driving the core business while enhancing the customer experience through new digital, innovative and responsible entertainment options," Rigby said in a letter to then-Mayor Christian Provenzano.

"The contribution of Sault Ste. Marie employees remains fundamental to our continued success and to reaching those new goals," the OLG boss said.

"Our commitment to our employees in Sault Ste. Marie and to the broader community will remain unchanged, even as OLG continues to evolve into a new and different organization by task and culture."

"As a Crown agency of the province, our business direction is sometimes impacted by variables beyond our control. However, I commit to a conversation to keep you informed of any changes and how they may impact employees in your community," Rigby told Provenzano.

City council didn't pass Shoemaker's resolution in 2018.

Shoemaker expressed hope at the time that one day, a future leader would instruct the crown corporation to move all its jobs to Sault Ste. Marie.