Thread by @nickemilanovic

MP Bob Bratina recently contributed to debate in the House. Brace yourself...

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-218 put forward by my friend, the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood, entitled an act to amend the Criminal Code (sports betting)....#HamOnt #StoneyCreek

My interest in this topic is not related to personal habits. I lost interest
in sports gambling when, as kids, we collected hockey cards and played a
game in which we flipped them to the ground against an opponent....

Someone would flip their card and watch it land, heads or tails, and then someone else would flip their card. If the second person matched the first, heads or tails, they would win the card....

That is how I lost my 1954 Topps Gordie Howe card, which, if I still had it today, would be worth $13,000...

My best bets over the years could have been profitable, had I backed them up with money. That would include Muhammad Ali knocking out George Foreman, the Tiger-Cats beating the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1986 Grey Cup...

and the Czechs beating the Soviet Union in the 1968 world hockey championships....

If I am not a sports gambler, why am I addressing the matter of sports
betting? It became obvious to me at an early age that people liked to bet on sports. Growing up in Hamilton exposed me to lots of it....

Right near my grandparents' house in the east end was the race track known as the Hamilton Jockey Club. Although it had an illustrious racing history, Queen's Plates and all...

its location near the steel mills in the days when workers were paid in cash meant that some dads came home after payday with no money.

Another feature of the east end was the floating crap game, once played on the street in storefronts, which were able to move away quickly if the
police showed up. The last big one took place on July 2, 1959 at the corner of Beach Road and Albemarle...

complete with drinks being served by a relative of mine who had been involved in the illicit alcohol trade. The reason the date is important is it was during a royal visit. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth was here, and that tied up almost the entire police force for the entire day...

Another relative was a well-known retired athlete and tavern owner. Fifty
years ago people could place a bet on almost any sporting event in the
tavern with Roy, the in-house bookie, who even had his own private telephone line....

Then of course there were the Irish Sweepstakes, well-known around the
world, with winners becoming known to their communities and yet it was a
total secret, supposedly, as to how one actually purchased an Irish
Sweepstake ticket....

One local winner won enough to retire as a waiter and purchase a farm....

My favourite story about the prevalence of gambling in our community came from the late and much beloved Sister Maria Cordis. Sister Maria was a well-known music teacher in the city who regaled us with stories....

As a young novitiate, she was walking downtown and saw a man sitting in the park grass, slumped over. She took out a $5 bill and slipped it into his hand and said, “For His grace.” The next week she walked past that same man who waved her over and handed her $100....

“What is this?” she asked. The man replied, “His Grace paid 20 to 1 at Woodbine.”

Sports gambling has been going on forever. The historians say the Greeks and the Romans bet on chariot races...”

It just keeps on going so I will spare you the rest. The good folks in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek paid for this “representation” in Parliament. My question is: Why?