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A Dec. 6 response from BCLC says that freedom of information law allows a public body to “charge a fee for certain limited costs of providing the requested information.”

The estimated cost for Unite Here’s request was $504,510. The estimate included 16,817 hours of document searching, at a cost of $30 per hour.

“In order to proceed with your request, BCLC requires a $252,240 deposit,” the response states.

“I was absolutely flabbergasted,” Hollin, a researcher with Unite Here, told Postmedia. “My first instinct was this is prohibitively high. And I felt like it was a deterrent to accessing information.”

Hollin said that in Ontario — where Great Canadian Gaming was awarded contracts to expand casino operations at Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack and other locations in 2017 — the union is attempting to work with the company in order to establish community benefits, including good local jobs, that could offset any potential negatives associated with casino developments.

Ontario’s opposition has called on the government to put on hold the expansion deal with Great Canadian, while an independent review of money laundering concerns in B.C. casinos is completed.

Hollin said Unite Here has been following reports by Postmedia on allegations of international organized crime networks using B.C. casinos to launder money, and that is why the union is attempting to gain more information from BCLC.

“We want the public to have as much information as possible because this is such an important issue, and there is so much public money at stake that goes to the provincial government (from casinos),” Hollin said. “We feel we have a right to know as much as we can, in the interest of transparency and accountability.”

Unite Here has asked BCLC to completely waive the $504,510 search fee, citing the public’s interest and current debates surrounding casino expansion plans in Ontario. If BCLC doesn’t waive the fee, Hollin said Unite Here will appeal to B.C.’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Great Canadian’s chief operating officer Terrance Doyle told Postmedia in a statement that he was not aware of the FOI request from Unite Here.

scooper@postmedia.com