500 jobs from the pot in one of the poorest regions

Photo courtesy
The greenhouses of cucumbers of the company LiveWell Foods Canada in Ottawa will be transformed for the production of pot. The company has also established in the Pontiac region in Quebec.

Simon-Pier Ouellet

Friday, 16 February 2018 01:00

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Friday, 16 February 2018 01:00

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LITCHFIELD | one of the poorest regions in Quebec could well become the capital of the pot as a centre of research and innovation there will be implanted to create 500 jobs.

The company LiveWell Foods Canada, who worked in the plantation of cucumbers for the past 25 years, starts to turn in the industry of cannabis.

The company will first transform its Ottawa facility in the greenhouses of cannabis, then it will build a global centre of innovation of 600,000 square feet at Litchfield, a small town of 456 people located approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes drive to Gatineau in the Pontiac MRC. The two projects combined will cost$100 Million.

The goal is to perform research and development on derivatives of the cannabis and hemp, such as oils or medicinal products.

The director-general of LiveWell Foods, Michel Lemieux, believes that this center will be unique in the country.

Screenshot, VAT new

Michel Lemieux

DG LiveWell Foods

“This is an industry relatively recent, and our centre will give a different color to our company. It will allow us to make progress on the industry of cannabis in Quebec, ” says the man.

Underprivileged areas

Construction is expected to begin next summer, as soon as the purchase of land in an industrial park will be completed. Within two years, the company wants to hire 500 people in highly-skilled jobs.

LiveWell Foods is currently discussing with universities.

This project is welcomed as a gift from heaven. This sector of the Outaouais region had the third lowest per capita disposable income of the province in 2016 behind The Tuque and the Haute-Gaspésie. The inhabitants of this region earn on average 22 306 $ per year.

“This is the best news. We had need. This is what is expected for several years, ” says the mayor of Litchfield, Colleen Larivière.

The industry of cannabis could thus revive the economy of this sector, which wants to attract for several years, without much success, businesses.

The company explains that the low cost of electricity in Quebec and the vast land available have been weighed in the balance for the choice of the municipality.

“It has a capacity of almost unlimited land in this area here. It could expand quickly if needed, ” says Michel Lemieux.

With its talons Ottawa 540,000 square feet, the facilities of the company will become one of the largest in the country in the industry of cannabis.

“We sit as a player with an aspiration to be dominant on the canadian market,” said Mr. Lemieux.

– With the collaboration of TVA Gatineau