It’s good news for farmers on both sides of the border – the MRC Pontiac will take over the slaughterhouse in Shawville.
In a press release, MRC Pontiac said officials have received confirmation that an offer to purchase the assets of Abattoir les Viandes du Pontiac has been accepted by creditors. Once all documents have been signed by the parties involved, the MRC will become the owner of the building at 65 Route 148 in Shawville, along with the equipment and tools, as well as the cold room and office furniture.
“The cost of acquiring the building and equipment is $1.6 million and the funds will come from components 3 and 4 of the Fonds régions et ruralité (FRR). At its special meeting on March 13, the Council of Mayors adopted a resolution authorizing the MRC Pontiac to submit an offer to purchase all the company’s lots,” reads a press release.
“The MRC’s number one priority was to keep the slaughterhouse operating in the Pontiac, because we know how crucial this infrastructure is for our agricultural producers,” says Kim Lesage, Director General of the MRC Pontiac. “As soon as we heard the news that the company’s assets were up for sale, we mobilized our agricultural, economic and government partners to see what options were available to us to maintain this service in the Pontiac.”
Under an agreement with a group of Pontiac farmers, specialized machinery will be resold to the group once it has been incorporated as a cooperative. “We are grateful for the MRC’s contribution and support of Pontiac’s agricultural producers and agri-food businesses,” says the Pontiac Farmers’ Group. “We’re convinced that maintaining the slaughterhouse’s activities will help reinforce the strong spirit of collaboration between local producers and agricultural processors.”
Keeping the slaughterhouse in the Pontiac is an essential condition for the success of the AgriSaveur project piloted by the MRC Pontiac, which aims to provide farmers and processors with state-of-the-art equipment and processing space. This will make it possible to have farm-to-plate products that come 100% from the Pontiac.
“This is excellent news, in line with our vision of developing our agri-food sector and building the AgriSaveur brand,” said Jane Toller, Warden of the MRC Pontiac. “I’d like to thank all our partners and the MRC team for the work they’ve done to keep the abattoir operating in the Pontiac.”
As for the next steps, the MRC will soon be meeting with all the parties involved to establish a timetable for assessing the conditions for restarting the abattoir, obtaining the necessary permits and authorizations from MAPAQ, and establishing a structure for governance, operations management, and recruitment of specialized employees, with the aim of resuming abattoir operations in the near future.
(Sherry Haaima)
