The Ontario NDP wants to put the brakes on the province’s lottery and gaming modernization plan until after the 2014 municipal elections when communities debating the merits of casinos can put the issue to a vote.

“Ontarians are very worried about the Liberal government’s direction on gaming in the province” Essex MPP Taras Natyshak told reporters during a press conference at Queen’s Park Friday morning.

“Vocal casino opponents in Toronto, Hamilton, Kingston, and elsewhere are seeing their voices drowned out by wealthy corporate casino lobbyists.”

The NDP on Monday is tabling a bill that will ask the Liberal government to suspend the overhaul of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, a plan which was introduced by the McGuinty government in 2012.

Natyshak said if his motion is passed, it will see “fair” spending limits established for stakeholders’ advertising campaigns in the lead-up to the issue being put to a referendum vote.

Natyshak, who has been a vocal opponent of the OLG’s expansion plans, said casinos are not “magic pills” and will not solve the province’s financial problems.

“Affected communities should be given the chance to weigh the cost and benefits before any decision are made.”

The motion will also require the Ontario Liberals to maintain the Slots at Racetracks program until a plan for the future of horseracing can be implemented.

Earlier this month, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the horse racing industry will be rolled into the provincial gambling strategy with the OLG to find new revenue streams.

“We need the process of integration to begin as soon as possible if we have any chance of future survival for the industry,” Sue Leslie of the Ontario Horse Racing and Breeding Association told the Canadian Press.

According to Leslie, the industry is still reeling from the Liberal government’s announcement last year, that it was cancelling the Slots at Racetracks program which had generated $345-million a year in revenues.

But Natyshak warned such actions could be detrimental for thousands of families and businesses involved in horseracing whose livelihoods, he says, are being gutted to make way for private casinos.

“New Democrats understand that there is work to be done to modernize and strengthen the horseracing industry, but this government simply wants to private all gambling and let the Donald Trumps of the world do whatever they want,” he said.

With files from The Canadian Press