HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-02-05, Page 1Quite a kid
Jacob McGavin of the Walton area, and a student at Brussels Public School was chosen from
117 nominees as one of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association’s 12 Ontario Junior
Citizens of the Year. Jacob will receive his award at a ceremony in Queen’s Park this March.
(Bonnie Gropp photo)
With $50 million in the new federal
budget dedicated to increasing
slaughterhouse capacity, it’s time to
dust off the Brussels beef-packing
plant proposal.
Paul Nichol, economic
development manager at the Huron
Business Development Corporation,
says that while the federal
government pulled the plug on
slaughterhouse funding when the idea
first came about two years ago,
aspects of the proposal are still valid.
One question mark originally,
Nichol says, is the cost to build the
plant. The initial estimate was
approximately $35 million, which at
the time. However, there is no telling
what has changed in the two years
since that figure was first reached, he
said.
In addition to a possible change in
construction costs, Nichol says there
are other hurdles to be overcome as
well. “The only problem here is that it
looks as though most of this money is
targeting existing slaughterhouses,”
he said. “And $50 million for the
whole country isn’t a lot of money on
slaughterhouses.”
Nichol, however, goes back to the
reason this proposal went forward in
the first place, that as Huron County is
so integral in Ontario’s beef industry,
keeping the beef here would only
make sense.
The initial proposal would have
created between 50 and 60 jobs in
Brussels and processed 1,000 cattle
per week.
“Most of the country’s
slaughterhouses are in Alberta now,”
Nichol says. “What we’re doing is
trying to grab a bit of this industry and
bring it back to Ontario.”
After the proposal is revised and
updated accordingly, Nichol says,
someone will be brought on who
knows the industry.
There is enough money in the
budget, contributed by the Huron
Business Development Corporation
and Huron County to bring someone
onto the project to negotiate with
potential financiers and explore
markets for the Brussels product.
“We have one last crack at this. You
only get so many chances at an
opportunity like this,” he said. “We
just need to find someone who knows
the industry, who can be the champion
for this project.”
In order to come to the table
prepared, Nichol said, the project’s
“champion” would have to spend
significant time with financiers,
securing between $10 and $15 million
for a potential half of the project.
Time would also have to be spent with
potential markets, lining up
prospective buyers. One market
Nichol says he’s particularly
interested in is Southeast Asia.
The markets are a major concern.
Nichol says there are certain policies
newly-elected U.S. President Barack
Obama is considering that could be
devastating to the beef industry.
In addition to potential problems
with shipping Canadian beef south of
the border, Nichol says there is a
newly-expanded middle class in
places like southeast Asia and India,
but their meat plants are an estimated
20 years behind their Canadian
counterparts.
Now with the money to upgrade to
a better quality of beef, but without
the technology to catch up to North
America in terms of their plants,
Nichol says the southeast Asian and
Indian markets could prove to be
perfect for a project like this.
Once these monetary issues are
lined up, Nichol says the proposal will
be more attractive to the Agricultural
Adaptation Council, a sector of
Agriculture Canada, who Nichol says,
is expected to handle the distribution
of the $50 million, as it was set to the
last time funding was proposed.
Brussels boy named OCNA Ontario Junior Citizen
Jacob McGavin, from The
Citizen’s readership area, is one of
12 young people recognized as an
Ontario Junior Citizen for 2008.
McGavin, the 13-year-old son of
Jeff and Shannon of the Walton area,
was among 117 nominees between
the ages of six and 17, for the annual
Ontario Community Newspaper
Association honour. He was
nominated by Brussels Public
School principal John Carr, with
supporting nominations from Diana
Dolmage and teacher Marc Westra,
for his involvement in worthwhile
community service.
McGavin said he was quite
surprised when he heard about the
award. “It was Sunday morning and
my sister, Mackenzie and I were in
the hot tub. Mom and Dad called us
in and asked us to sit down. I
wondered what was going on.”
His parents showed him the
OCNA website and told him he was
one of the top 12.
“I was really excited. It was a good
surprise.”
McGavin, who is in Grade 8,
founded Kids Care in Brussels and,
according to Carr, has worked
tirelessly to address needs at a global
and local levels.
The group raised money, through a
number of fundraisers, including a
famine, to help build a school in
Africa. Locally, they collected items
for the food bank during Halloween.
Carr said that while McGavin got a
few students together initially, he has
continued to encourage and motivate
more of his peers. “It is a testimony
to his leadership skills that he has
inspired so many to get involved.”
McGavin has been a guest speaker
for the Avon Maitland board’s
Character Development Day. He has
represented the board at the Canada-
wide science fair, has won prizes at
the International Plowing Match and
takes part in various board and sport
activities.
But, according to Carr, there is
more to McGavin than the
achievement. “They are made more
noteworthy by the fact that he is
heavily involved in a wide range of
activities. He still finds time to hang
out with his friends and be a regular
kid. In brief, he is an extremely well-
balanced young man.”
Dolmage too spoke of McGavin’s
positive influence on others. “We
should all take note of his optimism,”
she said. “He has drive, vision and a
strong belief that he can make the
world a better place for everyone.”
Describing McGavin as an
“exceptional individual” Westra
credits the boy with creating “an
environment of social responsibility
within our school in which students
see the world through lenses of
empathy and responsibility for the
greater good.”
He added that McGavin’s
motivation to show one person can
make a difference is inspiring.
McGavin thought it was “great that
Mr. Carr and the others nominated
me. I was told that they said some
really nice things about me. That was
really nice of them.”
Since learning of the award,
McGavin said his peers have been
supportive. “They have been
amazing. This whole thing is
awesome, a great experience.”
On March 3, McGavin and his
family will attend a special
presentation at Queen’s Park,
officiated by the Honourable David
C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of
Ontario.
(To see the other Ontario Junior
Citizen Award recipients go to page
7)
Nichol sees hope
for packing plant
CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009
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The Citizen
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The Citizen