Carl Hager
LITCHFIELD – Municipal council of Litchfield has given the green light to LiveWell Foods Canada Inc., to construct a state of the art global innovation centre and 600,000 square foot cannabis cultivation and processing facility at the Industrial Park. The official announcement is imminent and anxiously anticipated as it could mean hundreds of jobs.
Carl Hager
LITCHFIELD – Municipal council of Litchfield has given the green light to LiveWell Foods Canada Inc., to construct a state of the art global innovation centre and 600,000 square foot cannabis cultivation and processing facility at the Industrial Park. The official announcement is imminent and anxiously anticipated as it could mean hundreds of jobs.
Litchfield was chosen because of hydroelectric power, water availability and
abundance of space. Michel Lemieux, Director General of LiveWell, says that the facility requires a peaceful setting in which to conduct research. The Litchfield site will require the labour and skills of a multitude of people in construction, maintenance, research, security, administration and transportation. While the number of jobs possible in this project is hard to pin down at this point, hundreds of jobs may materialize.
A number of contracts will be required with the municipality, the MRC and Hydro-Québec. The company wants to link up with universities in the region to access research expertise. It wants to involve and work with the community so that Pontiac residents are informed and on side.
The site will become a centre of innovation and research into the medicinal applications of cannabis, sporting of laboratories and training rooms. Lemieux says that new products will be developed for consumption and cannabis products will be validated for content and purity. New nutritional and cosmetic innovations and manufacturing possibilities may not be far behind. Lemieux says that the legalization of marijuana will create a boon for cannabis-linked products, and LiveWell wants to be at the forefront of this development.
MRC Pontiac Mayors attended LiveWell’s presentation on February 21, and Warden Toller welcomed the presentation with cautious optimism. "The presentation was very positive and there is enormous potential for job creation, from general labour to more specialized positions.” She will follow the project closely, and commented that if the project is realized, it will boost the economic recovery of the Pontiac.