MRC Pontiac to purchase Shawville abattoir

MRC Pontiac to purchase Shawville abattoir

On May 15, MRC Pontiac announced that they had purchased the Abattoir les Viandes du Pontiac in Shawville, after its assets went up for sale earlier this year. The MRC had previously announced in a special meeting on March 13 that they had put forward a bid of $1.6 millionto keep the operation running locally, largely funding previously put aside for their AgriSaveur project. Several former abattoir employees were in attendance at the MRC council meeting on May 15, and expressed their appreciation that the business was staying in the region, as well as their interest in returning to work there.

Shanna Armstrong, MRC economic development commissioner in charge of agriculture, explained that the purchase of the abattoir meshed well with their ambitions for the AgriSaveur project, which aims to construct a shared facility for local producers to process and brand their agricultural products.

She said that they had conducted a market study with producers and consumers in the region to determine the wants and needs for the AgriSaveur project before the abattoir was put up for sale, and it confirmed that the project was a good fit for the location.

MRC Director General Kim Lesage said they took the contact information of all the former employees who attended the meeting and said she was thrilled that they wanted to return to work there. She added that there was still a ways to go in terms of setting up a non-profit to run the facility, formalizing partnerships with local producers and acquiring various certifications.