The proponent of a proposed meat-processing plant near Murillo says it will provide more information about its plans before local municipal officials sit down again to discuss the project next month.
Dave Gaudino, a Thunder Bay-based spokesman for a numbered company behind the project, said Monday he plans to submit additional details about the proposed cattle-processing facility to the Municipality of Oliver Paipoonge before council meets on April 14.
Gaudino said the plan will aim to address concerns already circulating about odor and waste left over from processing.
“There is some fear-mongering going on,” Gaudino said.
According to submitted documents, the facility “may include an anaerobic digester to process on-site waste and generate power, and a greenhouse to utilize the power generated from the digester.”
“We’re going to do this in the proper way,” Gaudino said.
The proponent is seeking council’s approval to add the use of an abattoir to a vacant Mud Lake Road property that is currently zoned light industrial.
The land, which was purchased in 2024, is located north of the CPR rail line between Oliver and John Street roads.
A municipal administration report says that as the property “is in a primarily agricultural area and abuts (the rail line), this proposal is compatible with land uses in the area.”
“Administration would recommend approval (of the zoning amendment) with the condition that (property) access is legally acquired prior to a building permit being submitted,” the report added.
Not everyone is keen on the project. Council has already heard from homeowners who live near the proposed site that it could negatively impact their property values.
“Neighbours are concerned, which is why we’ve asked for more information — how big it’s going to be, and what they plan to do with their waste water,” Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis said.
Kloosterhuis acknowledged that land available for such a project is hard to come by in Oliver Paipoonge, which is mainly farmland.
Gaudino said the proponent is not envisioning “a massive operation.”
Gaudino said the facility would primarily cater to the Thunder Bay region’s cattle market, which he says remains robust at about 5,000 head. The potential investment is in the $5-7-million range, he said
Some local farmers are having to travel to Dryden to have their animals processed, he noted.
Even if the zoning application is approved, the proponent would have to show it can meet provincial environmental and agricultural regulations, Gaudino said.
The owners of Murillo’s existing meat-processing facility have indicated in earlier media interviews their intention to retire.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, there are just under 120 provincially licensed abattoirs in Ontario.
