The task of convincing people to support public transit with new tolls and taxes just got harder — and casino lobbyists are to blame.

The presence of two in particular, Metrolinx chair Rob Prichard and fellow member of the Metrolinx board Doug Turnbull, make progress difficult for the agency that co-ordinates transportation throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Public confidence in the fairness of Metrolinx decisions will inevitably be eroded now that these prominent members of its board have an obvious interest in seeing a casino come to downtown Toronto — a casino that needs transit changes.

And this sapping of trust comes precisely when faith in a fair dealer is needed most, with Metrolinx on the verge of releasing a report urging acceptance of tolls and taxes essential to relieve gridlock.

The opposition at Queen’s Park has been aggressively attacking Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government for allowing Liberal-appointed board members at this public agency to become casino lobbyists. And the government’s defence, that conflict-of-interest rules are being obeyed, only addresses part of the problem.

Both Prichard and Turnbull have registered as lobbyists on behalf of a consortium, led by MGM Resorts, hoping to build a $3-billion gambling mega-complex on the site of the Canadian National Exhibitiona $3-billion gambling mega-complex on the site of the Canadian National Exhibition. Both have pledged to excuse themselves from any discussion at the Metrolinx board related to transportation and a casino.

Prichard says it is “arguable” whether he was required to register as a lobbyist under the rules, but did so out of “an abundance of caution.” That drew attention to his situation, but he says it is “still the right thing to do. The wrong thing to do is to have any interest that is not disclosed.” That caution and openness is commendable, but it still leaves an awkward situation for Metrolinx and its staff.

As reported by the Star’s David Rider, MGM has already initiated discussions with Metrolinx staff on improving a GO Transit station at Exhibition Place. The proposed gaming mega-complex would need other transit changes, too. And a rival casino bid, by Oxford Properties, also involves Metrolinx in that it seeks air rights over a railway corridor south of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Imagine being the transit analysts and planners asked to look into these issues and recommend the best way forward. They know that people in charge, at the top level of their organization, have a vested interest in a pro-casino outcome. There’s no mystery — they’ve officially registered as lobbyists.

That knowledge puts Metrolinx staff in a difficult position. Even if they weigh their options and, entirely in good faith, recommend steps favouring MGM’s proposal, there will always be a vague suspicion that they’re only doing so to please their masters.

That’s how public confidence in Metrolinx is undermined. It’s of little comfort that Prichard and Turnbull won’t actually take part in casino-related decisions. Their shadow as lobbyists clouds the agency anyway.

This alone would be bad enough. But it’s precisely the sort of taint that diehard opponents of new tolls and taxes could capitalize upon to undermine public and political support for these essential money-raising tools. If they’re successful and the Big Move, Metrolinx’s bold $50-billion construction planthe Big Move, Metrolinx’s bold $50-billion construction plan, goes unfunded, it will punish Ontarians with gridlock for decades to come.

That’s why having casino lobbyists at the top level of Metrolinx is such a bad bet. It could be yet another way that big-time gambling deprives many people of something they truly need.

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