Volume 6, Issue No. 13
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
Our latest as of Tuesday, October 8, 2024
~ The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has stepped into the dispute between a Filipino seniors group and a podcaster's much-vaunted Fiesta Extravaganza in Brampton where the latter had conducted a raffle city authorities consider "illegal gaming." The fiasco has been simmering since after the two-day festival ended in July.
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FIESTA EXTRAVAGANZA IN BRAMPTON
Ontario to Investigate 'Unlicensed' Raffle
A Festival of Snarls It May Turn Out To Be
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“What is true never fears investigation; what is false . . . fears everything.” – Guy Finley
TORONTO - Podcaster Von Canton's so-called "festival of smiles" in Brampton may turn out to be a "festival of snarls".
That is, once the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) acts on the formal complaint filed last week by the 143-member Filipino Seniors of Mississauga (FSM) against Fiesta Extravaganza (FE) for what the group had alleged - and authorities had confirmed - was an "illegal" lottery.
FE, also referred to as Canada Fiesta Extravaganza, had sold raffle tickets to raise funds and to attract crowds to its festival in Brampton (held July 13-14, 2024), one of nine, purportedly, cities included in what appears to be its amazing expansion outside of Toronto.
The tickets were priced at $2 apiece and winners could potentially take home the grand prize of $1,500; second prize of $750 and third prize of $250. Since it happened in July, we could assume the prizes had been awarded.
A Brampton city official clarified in early August that "Unlicensed raffles are contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada and, as such, constitute illegal gaming."
That was what FSM president Rene Sevilla had complained about, describing FE's raffle as "a raffle that should not have been started at all in the first place without first obtaining a permit and license to do so."
While characterizing unlicensed raffles like what FE had conducted in July, the official said the city had no jurisdiction over such activity, and told FSM to lodge its complaint with AGCO or the police.
Last week, Sevilla did exactly as he was advised and filed a detailed complaint with AGCO. In response, AGCO said: "Your complaint has been submitted and will be reviewed."
On its Facebook account, Von Canton, FE founder, had posted: "On behalf of the entire Canada Fiesta Extravaganza team, I invite you all again to join us in making history once again."
Indeed, FE is "making history." No other festival in the Greater Toronto Area is being held legally accountable for its conduct in raising money from the public through the sale of raffle tickets.
FSM is, in fact, the very first social group of elderly Filipinos to try to put a stop to unscrupulous practices by some organizations to victimize them.
Another festival, the Taste of Manila (ToM), appears headed to infamy after it has been denounced for its practice of fencing off uncooperative vendors who refused to "donate" or shell out money during its two-day run in August.
(Related story: Taste of Manila Fences Off Joints That Refuse to Dole Out Money).
Besides, ToM officials are big on self-promotion but short on delivering what they promised to do once the money started to come in. Its top officials also engaged in stealing copyrighted photos and videos of previous ToM events.
Von Canton did not deny lacking a license for his raffle, calling it an "oversight". (Related story: Brampton: Unlicensed Raffles Constitute Illegal Gaming).
In response to questions posed earlier, he said: "We acknowledge there was some oversight in obtaining a raffle permit. Our intent was not to launch a large fundraising effort, as the raffle was only promoted internally within our organization."
Canton is given to loud boasts about FE in social media, particularly on Facebook. There, he said FE will visit nine cities in 2024, adding "more vibrant spots to our Fiesta map".
For a six-year-old organization, it's stunning . . . if true. Just to think of the logistics in bringing one event alone would cause a lot of preparations and headache, particularly in securing funding.
But Von Canton is Von Canton, a braggart, in my opinion. He has counterparts in ToM who are just as braggadocios. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).
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