MRC Pontiac has announced on May 15 that they had purchased the Abattoir les Viandes du Pontiac in Shawville, after its assets went up for sale earlier this year.
The MRC had previously announced in a special meeting on March 13 that they had put forward a bid of $1.6 million to keep the operation running locally, largely funding previously put aside for their AgriSaveur project. Several former abattoir employees were in attendance at the MRC council meeting on May 15, and expressed their appreciation that the business was staying in the region, as well as their interest in returning to work there.
Shanna Armstrong, MRC economic development commissioner in charge of agriculture, explained that the purchase of the abattoir meshed well with their ambitions for the AgriSaveur project, which aims to construct a shared facility for local producers to process and brand their agricultural products.
