STEPHEN RICCIO
CAMPBELL’S BAY
July 10, 2020
An initiative that encourages residents to buy local products launched this week, with an event taking place at Brauwerk Hoffman Brewery in Campbell’s Bay.
The initiative is called Outaouais First, and the movement hosted events at . . .
five different locations across the Outaouais this week.
Approximately 25 people were present at the event, including MRC Pontiac Warden Jane Toller and Pontiac MNA André Fortin and MRC Economic Development Director Cyndy Phillips.
Anne-Marie Trudel is a spokesperson for the initiative, and she did most of the speaking once the event kicked off at 11 a.m. Fortin, Toller, Phillips, and Brauwerk Hoffman owner Todd Hoffman also spoke briefly before Trudel unveiled the logo for the movement.
While speaking, Fortin said that it was important to emphasize that buying local should not just be an idea driven to consumers, but to businesses as well with regards to which suppliers they buy from.
Toller referenced the global pandemic as a catalyst for this movement of thinking local. She said that it was a great thing for Pontiac businesses when people’s travel options were limited, because as a result many purchased products that they might have gone to Ontario for previously.
“With our proximity here in the Pontiac to Ontario and larger centres where there are many stores and businesses, there has been a tendency for a long time to take our Pontiac dollars across the border,” Toller said to the crowd.
She believes that Pontiac residents will now want more than ever to support local businesses as a result of the border closures potentially changing habits.
During her speech, Trudel mentioned some specific financial figures to point to the potential good a focused effort would do to the local economy. She said that if the 300,000 plus residents of the Outaouais spent $30 a week locally, that would amount to roughly $500 million in revenue.
According to an email from Phillips to The Equity, the MRC is not directly investing money into the campaign, “however the conference des préfets de l’Outaouais have committed $300,000 over the next three years through the FARR program.”
The FARR program, or Regional Support Fund, is a provincial program from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
