Ritchot Approves Abattoir Despite Large Opposition

By Dan Guetre

An industrial park on the edge of Ste. Agathe will soon be home to Iman Freshest Meat, an abattoir that will focus on producing Halal meat. The plan is to build in the Riel Industrial Park.

Ritchot council hosted a public hearing to allow the public their input. Dozens packed the seats and over 50 pieces of correspondence were received opposed to or had concerns about allowing the facility.

While the majority of production will be poultry, Muuxi Adam, who represented Iman Freshest Meats, explained they may also allow others who require a provincially licensed facility to share the space occasionally.

Adam currently distributes Halal meat but explained he saw an opportunity to focus the entire supply chain in Manitoba. Currently he brings the meat in from Alberta who has a processing plant.

“The issue is, we like to buy local,” he noted during his presentation and added this project could benefit local farmers.

Additionally, he predicted that the facility will create 5-8 local jobs.

Adam spoke in length to assure residents that the facility would have constant Provincial and Federal oversight ensuring that regulations spanning multiple departments were adhered to.

Logistically, the abattoir will process about 3,000 birds a week. He assured everyone that the plan includes processing the birds when they arrive so there will be no live animals stored at the site.

Despite 13 people speaking in opposition to the project, and dozen of letter, council approved the project albeit by a narrow margin of 3 votes for with two councillors voting in opposition.

Concerns expressed from residents ranged from decreased air quality, deflated property values, an abundance of waste and increased water requirements.

Adam cited that both Provincial and Federal regulations are very restrictive and Iman Freshest Meats will not only abide by those regulations, but will also implement the latest technologies to be less impactful on the local environment.

The majority of council agreed and approved the facility with a couple of additional requirements that residents brought up.