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CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Viewpoints ID: #63229 Medium Cards and Dice on the Waterfront

Read the following editorial from a website.

Thunder Bay could soon get a new gaming hall. Provincial officials are considering a licence for a casino and hotel on a former rail yard beside our waterfront, and the tourism ministry says the project would fill rooms and bring conventions back to the city. We are not against the idea. But we believe a new casino should open only after the money for treatment is locked in law and our clinics are ready for the extra demand.

Olympia Desjardins, the provincial tourism minister, argues that the city loses visitors when its evenings offer little to do. She told provincial lawmakers that local hotels have watched conventions move to cities with more nightlife, and she wants money for addiction services written into the licence itself rather than left to voluntary donations. Anatol Kristensen, an addiction physician, warns that a casino close to home raises the risk of broken self-exclusion promises and family debt long before treatment programs can grow. “When the tables arrive before the counsellors do, the emergency department pays the bill,” he said.

Frida Soucy, the city treasurer, says past gaming money has disappeared into general revenue and paid for flower baskets rather than clinics. She would support the licence only if a fixed city share of gaming revenue for prevention and care, along with a three-year audit of treatment services, is written into law before the doors open. Imran Sharma, who counsels people with gambling problems, notes that players who ban themselves from a casino can still gamble on their phones. He wants self-exclusion enforced online as well as in the building, and he wants public dashboards that show how long people wait for help.

Desjardins is right that a city needs reasons for visitors to stay the night, and we do not doubt the hotel figures. In our view, though, Kristensen’s warning matches what clinics already see, and Soucy’s history lesson should make everyone careful. Our recommendation is a licence with conditions: Soucy’s fixed share and audit in law, Sharma’s online enforcement and dashboards, and counsellors hired before the first table opens. Council should also invite the public to a hearing before giving its support. Done this way, a casino can add jobs without adding to the emergency department’s workload.

Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.

The editorial is mainly about 1.
.

Who most clearly warns that treatment may not keep up with a new casino? 2.
.

Olympia Desjardins’s position would most likely be supported by 3.
.

What outcome does Frida Soucy’s condition call for? 4.
.

The tone of the editorial is best described as 5.
.

The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.

I have worked the front desk at a hotel near the waterfront for eleven years, and slow winter weekends are hard on everyone who depends on tips. The tourism minister wants the money for addiction services 6.
, and the editorial explains her reasoning clearly and fairly. Imran Sharma wants self-exclusion enforced 7.
, which seems overdue to me. A cousin of mine spent two years paying off a gambling debt, so none of this is abstract for our family. Sharma also asks for 8.
, which I would want written into any deal. Putting the casino on 9.
 at least spares a street full of families from the noise and traffic at night. Your call for 10.
 before council backs the licence deserves wide support.

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