Whenever there is an announcement in the Pontiac about a new business that will bring with it much needed jobs, it often falls on deaf ears.
It’s no surprise given the amount of business prospects that have flamed out before they could get off the ground.
The Pontiac industrial park comes to mind.
The site of the former Smurfit Stone paper mill in Litchfield, which was purchased in 2010 by Green Investment Group Inc. (GIGI), was set to host several businesses that were going to provide much needed employment to the Pontiac.
However, in short order, the Trebio Pellet mill closed, GIGI defaulted on municipal taxes as well as several loans and took millions of dollars of scrap metal from the facility.
A quick Google search lists the Pontiac Industrial Park as one of the properties still owned by GIGI despite the fact that they sold the property in 2010.
Pontiac residents were told when GIGI took over the facility that this project would provide much-needed jobs.

This was welcome news, especially in the fourth-poorest MRC in Quebec.
Unfortunately, those jobs never materialized.
So it makes sense that Pontiac residents are at least a little bit jaded when it comes to announcements promising jobs.
Which is why the Abattoir les Viandes du Pontiac in Shawville is a breath of fresh air.
The project was announced in December and is on schedule to be completed by November.
Although the owners say the initial employment numbers will be modest – they said they’ll be starting with eight employees – if the project is successful they plan to expand and hire more employees.
And it looks like the project should be successful because many farmers in the region are on board.
At the question-and-answer session hosted in Shawville in April, local farmer Scott Stevens said he will save 30 per cent on each animal he sends to the abattoir in Shawville instead of sending them elsewhere.
Not only will the increased employment help the region’s employment numbers, but the more affordable alternative to far-flung slaughterhouses will also benefit local farmers.
When the project was first announced, some residents had questions about the project. They were concerned about the impact on local property values as well as the fact that animals will be slaughtered according to Halal practices.
To their credit, the owners got in front of residents, faced the criticism and pacified opponents.
No property values would be affected, residents wouldn’t get an unwanted whiff of the abattoir and the Halal certification means the slaughterhouse has access to a niche market that will make it more profitable.
The Quebec government recently announced a $200,000 grant for the project. The aim is to offset some of the debt incurred by the investors, which will free them up to potentially expand faster.
The owners of the abattoir said that they plan to expand the facility, which will increase its capacity in terms of how much meat can be processed each day.
The more meat that’s processed means more jobs for people in the Pontiac.
It’s good to see residents, politicians and entrepreneurs come together to get behind a good idea, especially one that has more economic promise than what we’ve seen in the past.
Hopefully, this time next year local residents will be eating meat with the name “Pontiac” stamped across the packaging.

Chris Lowrey