Mayor of St. Marys raises concern into Maple Leafs move
Posted Nov 27, 2018 10:08:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It's a move that's generating lots of buzz from the business and political world.
Maple Leaf Foods has announced they will invest hundreds of millions into building a fresh-poultry facility in London, Ontario. But it comes at the cost of shutting down three smaller, aging plants in Ontario.
One of those plants is in St. Marys, expected to shut down by late-2021. The other two facilities — in Toronto and Brampton — are slated to close in mid to late 2022.
Those plants are between 50 and 60 years old, the company said, and their location, footprint and infrastructure limit opportunities to expand and modernize to meet growing market demand.
“We deeply regret the impact that these eventual closures will have on our people and communities,'' said Maple Leaf CEO Michael McCain in a statement.
St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee tells “Kitchener Today with Brian Bourke” there was little to no warning this was coming.
“We all know Maple Leaf, you people lived through it in Kitchener. I remember that situation, I have family in Kitchener,” he said, referencing the shut down of the Maple Leaf plant on Courtland Avenue back in 2014, a move that left almost 1,200 people out of work.
“I understand what's going on but there was just absolutely no indication from anyone that this might occur.”
The protein company will invest an initial $605.5 million dollars into the plant and an additional $5 million into related projects over the next five years, while $34.5 million will come from the Ontario government and an additional $28 million from the Canadian government.
The facility will span nearly 60,000 square metres and employ 1,450 full and part-time workers once operations begin, which is expected in the second quarter of 2021.
Construction will begin this spring.
Strathdee says it's unfortunate Maple Leaf wouldn't reinvest in St. Marys and Perth South, especially with the successes the plant has seen over the years — dating back to it's days housing the Campbell's Soup plant.
“There's a long history here, and a very productive work force,” he said, “They've made money and done well in the community.”
That's not to say he isn't happy for London, applauding their efforts. But in the same breath, Strathdee fears rural Ontario is becoming an after-thought.
“This has been a bad week for industry in Canada,” he said, mentioning this week's announcement to shut down General Motors' Oshawa plant.
“I don't know what the ratio is here, I know it's unfair for me to say that but there is all kinds of spin offs. Trucking companies, welders, plumbers, all those things. They're a spin off in our community and that's the part that hurts and sometimes, the government doesn't think about.”
He says the other part that hurts is the timing, with Christmas right around the corner.
“What a terrible time to make an announcement like this because uncertainty in your life, where you're trying to make your mortgage payments, look after your family and so forth,” Strathdee says, “We really do not have a lot of information.”
“We know they're building a mega-plant, but if someone has to drive 45 minutes to keep their job, do they make more money now? We don't know. The reality is that we don't have a lot of information, it's very tough for families.”
Over 500 people are said to be impacted at the St. Marys plant. Maple Leaf plans to provide those employees with job opportunities at the new facility or other plants it operates.
But if workers in St. Marys have to head over to London, it creates quite the change in lifestyle.
“It's something to be able to be at work in 10 minutes, it means a lot actually,” Strathdee said.
“Having three stop lights to drive through, as opposed to trying to go down through the centre of London. There's something about lifestyle in small town life, and the reality is we keep getting left behind…even the high-speed rail, the whole thing and so forth, cutting through viable farm lands.”
“It seems like rural Canada is taking it in the teeth again and again and again.”
CLICK HERE for the full interview.
(With files from The Canadian Press)
