Rumours have been circulating in the community about the fate of the proposed cannabis growing facility and innovation centre that has been proposed by LiveWell Foods Inc. in Litchfield.
The plan – which has apparently changed – originally called for a 600,000 square foot cannabis growing facility.
However, in recent months it became apparent that construction on the facility has been halted.
LiveWell Director of government and stakeholder relations, Michel Lemieux, told local representatives that although they remain committed to the Pontiac, the scope of the plan has changed.
When reached for comment about what that change of scope means, all LiveWell provided was a boilerplate statement from CEO David Redimonti.
“LiveWell remains committed to the Litchfield project and is continuing to work with all supplier-partners involved,” the statement read.
The statement came on the heels of a report that environmental cleanup company Deslan AIM – the company who was performing the site cleanup – filed a legal motion alleging that it had not been paid the nearly $1,679,118 it’s owed by LiveWell.
It’s unclear what this means for the future of the LiveWell site.
It’s not just citizens and the local media that seem to be in the dark. The elected representatives of the Pontiac have expressed surprise as the news about LiveWell’s shortcomings keep piling up.
Although Toller was informed that the scope of the project has changed, she couldn’t provide any further details.
It’s not Toller’s fault, it seems that in light of potentially bad news getting out, LiveWell has decided to clam up. That’s understandable. After all, it is a private company and it doesn’t have to talk to anyone.
But in the spirit of forming a “partnership” with the Pontiac, it would be welcome gesture from LiveWell if the company would give residents some information.
LiveWell came on the scene talking about employing hundreds of people at the Litchfield site once it’s up and running. They still say they’re committed to the project.
But how much faith should Pontiac residents put in those assurances?
It was only a few years ago that another tenant was going to revamp the Pontiac Industrial Park and bring jobs back to the area.
Green Investment Group Inc. (GIGI) bought the former Smurfit-Stone mill in Portage du Fort in 2010. The company bragged about investing more than $4 million into the cleanup of the site.
However, it turns out that GIGI was simply stripping the old mill for all the scrap metal and salvageable material it could before picking up shop and moving along.
It seems GIGI simply stopped operations after moving away from the industrial park. Its website still promotes the Litchfield site as one of its ongoing projects – despite the fact that another company owns the site.
When LiveWell first announced its intentions, politicians and locals hailed it as a sign of good things to come.
But this wouldn’t be the first time that those signs quickly turned to red flags.
Based on past experiences, Pontiac residents have rightly cast a skeptical eye towards new initiatives in the region. But for some reason, this one seemed different.
The newly legalized cannabis market has plenty of potential, and it seemed like Pontiac was going to get in on the ground floor.
Alas, the recent news of contractors not being paid, work stoppages and lawsuits is sadly all too familiar for Pontiacers.
Chris Lowrey
