Fredericton — The Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) announced this morning that rather than offer $1,000 per week for 25 years, the new grand prize of their popular lottery game will be a stable government job in the department of the winner’s choosing.
The change came about when the ALC realized that securing a job with the provincial government would make a winner “Set for life,” while also costing the corporation less money overall, as governments will be paying for the jobs through tax revenue.
“A government job means a set weekly schedule, lots of vacation time, a pension and a retirement plan, and low expectations from your bosses,” explained ALC communications officer Dina Krause.
“In any government position, you can accomplish very little each week compared to the private sector. You could spend an entire day only answering two emails, and be considered a productive employee.”
The change in prizes is expected to increase sales in the Set for Life lottery game, as a government job is something more tangible to Atlantic Canadians than the idea of being handed money for nothing every week, though the two notions do seem similar to some people.
“Frig, either one sounds great. I guess a government job would give me something to do during the day, get me out of the house,” said Tim McPherson, a Moncton-based lottery ticket fan.
“If I won the old Set for Life prize, I wouldn’t really have anything to do around the house. Guess I’d rather get the job and keep my hands busy. I’d probably want to work for Fish and Wildlife, since I love being outside on my four-wheeler,” mused McPherson.
“Yeah I sure wouldn’t mind working for government. I can’t right now since I’m not bilingual, but I’ll keep buying them tickets to see what happens,” said Burtts Corner resident Kelsey Jeffries. “The odds of getting a non-janitor job in New Brunswick are the same as winning the lottery, so I mayswell keep trying my luck. A ticket is the price of a fancy cup of coffee from Starbucks, so I’ll keep treating myself.”
The only people not happy about the prize change appear to be current government employees who were banking on winning the lottery as their “retire early” scheme.
“I’ve been at this job for 11 years, and the entire time I’ve been buying lotto tickets. Now it’s all for nothing,” moped New Brunswick Department of Transportation employee Ben Hanson.
“What kind of prize is that for us? Even more work? Do you know how long it took me to figure out how to look busy while accomplishing only one task a week? It took me a whole two weeks of my life! That’s 336 hours of my life that I’ll never get back,” said Hanson, who must now stay in the same job for another 10 years before retiring with a healthy pension and RRSP to support him and his wife, who also works in government full-time.
The ALC’s announcement included a joint press release with Service Canada, stating that purchasing a Set for Life ticket now counts as a job application for those trying to stay qualified for employment insurance.
I thought all government jobs have to be bilingual? If this is not the case I need one as I cannot get out of my part time position at the hospital because I do not speak french. They come in off the street with no experience. This is not fair. So to offer a job as a prize is not right unless you change the language laws.