Premier Kenney Participates in Prosperity Park Sod Breaking Ceremony

Premier Kenney Participates in Prosperity Park Sod Breaking Ceremony

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Premier Jason Kenney joined Fort Saskatchewan- Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk and Vegreville Mayor Tim MacPhee in a sod breaking ceremony at the future home of Prosperity Park on July 22.

Premier Kenney also posed for photos with Town Councillors Dave Berry, Taneen Rudyk, Jerrold Lemko and Marielle Brodziak. He arrived to the site of the agri-industrial park around 3:30 pm as rain was falling steadily, and joked he brought the much need precipitation with him, as he had just finished touring Highland Feeders.

During the filming of a short promotional video Kenney thanked the town for its “visionary project” that will “add value to this region’s historic ag industry” and the provincial government’s promise of supporting the project with an infrastructure investment.

MacPhee responded by saying, “Thank you Premier for coming out today and MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk. We are trying to entice a new industry altogether. The hemp industry is one of our biggest players in this new park and we’re going to use the local producers here to grow some nice crops and we’re going to create new products, and all kinds of things in this industry, from textiles right down to pulp and paper products. It’s just another thing our local producers can do, and we are going to create the jobs and add the value right here in our community.”

MLA Armstrong-Homeniuk briefly touched on the invaluable support of Alberta Innovates, and how important it is to have the agricultural research facility in Vegreville.

MacPhee pointed out that, “Alberta Innovates is the biggest reason the hemp industry is going where it is. The Government of Alberta has derisked this industry through Alberta Innovates.

Every process of growing, right down to stripping it down into the fibres, so the government has done a great job of derisking the industry.

In a follow up interview with Premier Kenney he was asked, “How can the provincial government t help support the town in the next phase as far as getting investors there to take advantage of that opportunity?

He responded by saying, “I love the vision and the concept. Credit goes to Mayor MacPhee and MLA Armstrong- Homeniuk for their great work. I was excited to turn the sod on that. We’re putting in millions to support the infrastructure. I love the value-added aspect for agriculture. And of course, Alberta Innovates having its ag. research facility right there in Vegreville is going to be a great a magnet for new investment like it is for that big hemp facility going in. That’s going to add value to ag. products and help local farmers. I think it’s awesome.

We’ve created a new agency, it’s called Invest Alberta, and it’s scouring the world for new investment to come into our province, and we want to connect that investment into local projects like the prosperity park. So, we’re doing our part on the worldwide stage to bring in more investment.

And I can tell you there’s a lot of exciting things happening in agriculture. I met with the head of a multinational just yesterday who is looking at a billion-dollar project east of Edmonton to produce feed for a poultry plant so people in the Vegreville area may benefit from that. So, we’ll be there to be partners in the community, and with Alberta Innovates it will help out as well as Invest Alberta.”

MacPhee said the town is currently in negotiation with two companies looking to develop hemp fibre facilities in Vegreville, but no contracts have been signed to date.

MLA Armstrong-Homeniuk stated that, “On the tour we stopped by Highland feeders for a short tour, we also stopped by Prosperity Industrial Park to check up on the progress, and we ended our day at Quest disposables with a fantastic fundraiser.”

She also expressed her appreciation to Highland Feeders and Quest for hosting the tour and fundraiser, and for Premier Kenney for bringing the rain along with him.