There tends to be two prevailing opinions when it comes to the future of the Pontiac, one that’s jaded and one that’s rose-coloured.
The jaded folks look at the industries that have left the region and throw up their hands, saying that the Pontiac will never be the same.
The rose-coloured contingent tend to look at just about any idea with the hope that it will be the magic bullet that saves the Pontiac.
The healthiest place to be, it would seem, is somewhere in the middle.
There are a number of projects in the Pontiac that give reason to be optimistic.
The newly-built abattoir, the cannabis growing facility and research centre proposed by LiveWell in Litchfield, the proposed National Park plan for Grand Calumet Island and the potential pool project in Fort Coulonge.
All of these initiatives hold the promise of potential for the region.
It’s understandable then that these proposals have been met with widespread excitement.
But each of them needs to be handled with a healthy degree of skepticism.
The abattoir was the first project to be exposed to this scrutiny. Some residents in Shawville questioned whether the facility would have an impact on property values, what kind of employment opportunities there would be and what its designation as a Halal abattoir meant.
The owners of the abattoir, to their credit, faced the music and answered each of these questions to the satisfaction of residents. It just had its first open house over the weekend.
It’s a blueprint that proponents of other projects should note.
The recent construction stoppage at LiveWell’s Litchfield facility has raised questions about the project. LiveWell representatives chalked it up to a change in regulation. When asked, LiveWell representatives couldn’t point to the specific regulatory change that forced the stoppage.
The National Park on Grand Calumet Island is another exciting project. Similarly, the pool project for Fort Coulonge has garnered interest – more than 2,500 people signed a petition in support.
However, committees heading up both have only recently been formed, and both projects have long roads to completion.
Since they’re still in their infancy, it’s unrealistic to expect every single detail to be nailed down, but that doesn’t mean residents should take sales pitches at face value.
After all, the Pontiac has been burned before when it comes to businesses promising economic revitalization for the region.
A short time ago, Green Investment Group Inc. (GIGI) bought the old Smurfit-Stone paper mill with the promise of attracting green jobs.
However, it appears that GIGI simply stripped the old mill of all its scrap metal, sold it and moved on.
In light of false promises in the past, Pontiac residents can’t be faulted for casting a cynical eye towards new projects.
These initiatives need to be evaluated on their merits, not on past experiences.
But that’s the key: residents need to know the details of these projects.
So if these new initiatives hope to gain the support of residents – and overcome the cynicism of some – they need to make the specifics of their plan public sooner rather than later.
As they say: the devil is in the details.
Chris Lowrey
