Abattoir moves forward this November
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The Northwest Premium Meat Co-Op abattoir will be re-opening for one month as the facility aims to assist Bulkley Valley producers with the busy fall slaughter season.
The opening will take place on Oct. 26.
The slaughterhouse closed down on April 30 while the organization worked on restructuring its long-term debt.
Thirteen employees were laid off when it closed.
Chair of the co-op’s board of directors is pleased to see the facility re-opening.
“The abattoir is a brand new building in fine shape, and we have an inspector in place, so why not try to run just the abattoir and see how we make out with it?” ____ Davidson said.
The board is still working with various financial organizations to secure their long-term financing but Davidson noted that it may not fall into place until next spring.
While the abattoir is temporarily opening, the co-op’s ‘cut and wrap’ store in Telkwa will not be opening at this point.
Davidson is hoping they can get financing which will allow them to keep the abattoir running straight through November and onward but even if they can’t, “it sure feels good just to be able to service the producers through this busy slaughter time.”
Nathan Cullen, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP, had said before the announced month-long re-opening that he had been speaking to the federal minister of agriculture and got the sense that help could be available from the government.
“He felt optimistic that there might be a way to get something done,” said Cullen.
“We’re just going to press ahead with it because we’ve got to get this thing open for the agricultural sector and the northwest.”
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