The board of directors overseeing operations at the OLG saw two new members appointed to the group. The two new board members are from the Ottawa region, fitting additions as the national capital is one of only a few locations expected to construct a new casino under the OLG’s gambling modernization strategy.
The new members are Joanne Lefebvre, a member of the francophone chamber of commerce in the Ottawa region, and Lori O’Neill, an accountant and management consultant who works in the vicinity. Lefebvre became a member of the OLG Board near the end of last year, while O’Neill was appointed in February – though the OLG kept quiet about both appointments.
The new look of the OLG Board differs from the previous administration. Many previous members were based in and around Toronto under the leadership of former OLG Chairman Paul Godfrey.
Godfrey was fired from his position last summer by Premier Kathleen Wynne, who has shifted the Ontario government away from investing in privatized casinos. In response to Godfrey’s removal from office, most of the previous board members quit in a show of support for their former chairman.
The Wynne government is replacing the previous OLG Board with members from locations outside the GTA. The appointments from Ottawa will help the OLG as it negotiates construction for the new casino at Rideau Carlton Raceway on the outskirts of the city.
Lefebvre says that while the Ottawa casino is one of the priorities, she and the other members of the OLG Board will make decisions that are in the best interests of all Ontarians.
“We’re all there to continue to serve Ontario with a significant contribution to the Ontario citizens.”
