CALEB NICKERSON
Pontiac May 8, 2019
Significant developments have been made in the creation of an international agri-tourism circuit, according to a local farmer who is coordinating the project.
Allumettes Island resident David Gillespie appeared at the 36th Annual Vermont Tourism Summit in South Burlington, Vermont on April 4 and 5.
Gillespie gave a presentation on the two state, two province, agri-tourism route called CANAMEX that he has been working on for years with partners in the US and Canada. The route snakes from Vermont and New York, through south Quebec and into south eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, and will include a host of different farms and producers.
Gillespie gave a similar presentation on the project at an international tourism conference in Italy this past November, alongside University of Vermont professor and tourism researcher Lisa Chase.
“It was the same presentation I gave in Italy, but we did there a little less on theory and a little more on applications,” he said in an interview with The Equity on Friday.
At the summit, Gillespie also got a meeting with Vermont Governor Phil Scott, which went on far longer than expected. The two were introduced by Tourism Commissioner Wendy Knight, and ended up hitting it off.
“I was lucky to even meet him,” he said, noting that he found Scott down to earth.
CANAMEX received a letter of support in early April from Canada’s newly appointed Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, who also forwarded a copy of the letter to the office of Tourism Minister Melanie Jolie.
More recently, region four of the route, which includes Papineau, Prescott-Russell, Vallée de la Gatineau, des Collines, Renfrew and Pontiac, met on April 24 in Chelsea for a planning session.
Gillespie said that this region has a lot of work to do, though he was encouraged by what he heard at the table, including a grant of $300,000 for a CANAMEX link in the Prescott-Russell region of Ontario. He praised agri-tourism as a supplementary or even primary revenue stream for farmers in the Pontiac.
“People in agriculture in general are suffering because of low commodity prices,” he said. “This is a value added and we can see in regions south of Montreal that are doing very well. We’re not there yet here but it’s starting … There’s an existing circuit here but we need to develop it more. If we can get more farmers to join, it’s a win-win. ”
Gillespie said that there are criteria for businesses to be added to the official circuit; basics like parking, washrooms and the product offered. He was eager to see the existing Outaouais Gourmet Way route expand in the region, as well as make links with businesses in Renfrew County.
“We’re going to try and secure some funding this year,” he said.
The next meeting on the agenda for the CANAMEX leadership will be later this summer in the US.
“We’re going to have a meeting on July 10 for all regions: Vermont, New York, Quebec … and Ontario, specifically on what issues we need to resolve before the inauguration by the governors and the premiers,” Gillespie said.
