You’ve been able to do what I’ve for years been secretly wishing for;
Something that no one person, group or leader has had the guts to do
Even though thousands of lives and families are destroyed each day.
My deep gratitude for your visit comes from the part of me who’s an advocate
For those who no longer have a voice and those who won’t or can’t speak out
Due to their insurmountable guilt, anxiety and shame related to a matter
That is of no fault of theirs but no one has ever told them this truth.
You, and only you, COVID-19, were able to close each and every door,
Of all the bars and casinos in most communities across this country –
Buildings whose walls were purposely built without windows,
To keep the Vlt and Slot machines out of sight so out of mind.
Decades ago, we were told the purpose for these government machines,
Was to pay for things like better education, health care and roads,
To raise funds for our charity groups, for bar owners to make money,
And without them each one of us would have to pay more taxes.
COVID-19, you have taken many lives in our provinces, that’s true,
But what most will never know is the number of lives you’ve actually saved
And the multitude of families you’ve prevented from being further destroyed
Because of your power in keeping those doors closed for as long as you have.
For months now, you’ve made it possible for tens of thousands of people,
Who no matter their commitment or how many times they tried in the past,
Couldn’t stay away from Vlts and Slot machines for more than a day or two,
Reinforcing the ever-popular belief that they are fools or just too weak.
By keeping those entrance doors closed, you, COVID-19, have also stopped
The machine players in Alberta from losing over $4.5 million per day,
Of which 75 per cent would have come from those who are severely addicted,
Many of whom have already lost everything including their families.
For many of these players, it’s the first time in years they’re able to sleep
Without the fear of repeating the same destructive cycle yet another day.
And for others still, no longer having constant thoughts of killing themselves
As their only way to end an addiction we all know is 100 per cent preventable.
I can understand why people are anxious for you to go, COVID19,
But if it wasn’t for you, many of our fellow citizens could not today see
The light at the end of the very long and dark tunnel they stepped into
The very first time they opened the doors you’ve been able to keep closed.
By shutting those doors for months, you’ve proven the first to show up
In our communities was ‘problem machines’ and not ‘problem gamblers’.
And once people realize this truth, they quickly come to understand
It’s not the players who are sick – it’s the machines that make them sick.
The main difference between the lives that you, COVID-19, have taken,
And the 46 to 54 gambling-related suicides which happen each year in Alberta,
Is that our government informs us daily about how dangerous a virus you are,
And not once in 25 years have they told us about their machines’ harmful properties.
As concerning is how each life you took has made the headlines at least once,
And yet the tens of thousands of lives that have been destroyed each year
Because of the machines hidden inside the places you’ve kept closed,
Haven’t once been talked about, not even a thank-you for the money they lost.
By Gisele Jubinville, St. Albert
Author of DISMISSED