CALEB NICKERSON
CAMPBELL’S BAY
June 4, 2018
On June 4, MRC Pontiac Warden Jane Toller kicked off her series of public engagement tours with a town hall meeting on agriculture at the R.A. Hall in Campbell’s Bay, with around 30 farmers and stakeholders turning out. This is the second such town hall she’s hosted, with one concerning the local forestry industry taking place back in January.
She started off by saying that her gusto for town hall meetings comes from her time on Toronto City Council, where she found them to be incredibly useful.
She then gave an overview of the recent request by the MRC to the province for $2 million and a special status for agriculture. She explained that the special status and funding would mimic a similar program that used to be in place in the region. The request features 13 proposals covering everything from solutions to drainage issues to clearing up the red tape around farm successions.
She also spoke of an opportunity for local farmers to grow mustard, due to the proximity of a company in Gatineau that uses the seeds to create biofuel.
Allumettes Island farmer David Gillespie gave a brief overview of the Canadian-American Exchange, or CANAMEX project he has been working on in collaboration with stakeholders in Montérégie Que., and the U.S. The project is looking to create an agri-tourism route that stretches from Vermont and New York State up to Southern Quebec.
He was excited at the rate the project was coming along and said the route would be the first of its kind. In November, Gillespie and his compatriots from the project will attend the World Congress in Agritourism in Italy.

Next up were several representatives from Livewell Foods, the medical cannabis company currently constructing greenhouses and a research facility in Litchfield.
Chief Administrative Officer Michel Lemieux handled most of the presentation and explained that the company is in the final licensing stages with Health Canada and is working hard to get their operation up and running.
He stressed that while the Litchfield site would produce some cannabis, the main focus would be the research facility, where they will extract and study various chemicals produced by the plant.
“We have to grow cannabis because we’re doing extractions, but it’s more than that,” he said.
He wanted to reassure people who might be skeptical of such an ambitious project by pointing out that the Livewell has already purchased the land and started clearing it for construction.
“We already have four PhDs hired,” he said, adding that they make an effort to use local contractors where possible. Once construction is finished, Lemieux said there would be many employment opportunities for the local workforce, from greenhouse labour to security and maintenance.
In fact, the current engineer on site, Justin Bennett, who was also present, is from Quyon.
Bennett said that currently there’s about 30 preparing the site, but during the peak of construction it will spike to over 200.
Livewell is aiming to be up and running by December, with the greenhouses springing up by the late summer. They will also be constructing accommodations on site for workers.
Amber Johnson, head of education and training for Livewell, presented a short history of hemp and cannabis.
She said that they will focus their study on organic extraction of Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the 113 cannabinoids identified in the plant. Unlike the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD relieves pain without the intoxicating effects, making it ideal for medicinal applications.
In addition to relieving pain, CBD is currently being studied for treating epilepsy and inflammation, among other things.
Dr. Tom O’Neill from Shawville was in the audience and stressed that while not all the claims about CBD have been proven, more research on the subject is needed. Lemieux offered to connect with O’Neill as well as any other local health care professionals interested in the project.
To close out the meeting, MRC Development Officer Chakib Ahmimed gave a rundown of the L’ARTERRE program, which offers opportunities and aid to farmers who are just starting out.