Canada Meat Group Gets $2.4M to Build North Bay Plant

A new North Bay business is receiving more than $2.4 million in government funding to help get its soon-to-be built meat processing facility up and running in the next several months

by Michael Lee – North Bay Nugget

Standing on the future site of Canada Meat Group Monday, Nipissing-Timiskaming Liberal MP Anthony Rota announced the company would receive a $1-million loan from FedNor to help build a 15,000-square-foot meat processing and cold storage facility at North Bay’s Airport Industrial Business Park.

Nipissing Progressive Conservative MPP and Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli, meanwhile, announced a more-than $1.4-million grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. for the business, which will specialize in processing kosher and halal meats — or food that is prepared in accordance to Jewish and Islamic dietary laws, respectively — to eventually export to foreign markets such as the Middle East and Asia.

“Working with our partners has allowed us to create this reality, so today I am confident in the success of Canada Meat Group”

 

Rota pointed to the estimated half a trillion dollars annually that the global halal food industry produces and said this week’s announcement is a “prime example” of how all three levels of government can work together to make sure a company can “get on its feet.”

Canada Meat Group is expected to hire more than 40 full-time employees once it is fully operating.

“This one will not only allow us to process meat, but will tap into locally grown beef as well … that we can process here and ship around the world,” Rota said.

“This is a global operation that allows us to operate locally, but think globally.”

Fedeli said through his role in the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, he will be able to help market Canada Meat Group’s products in the Middle East and Asia, where he expects to travel to by the end of the year.

He also commended the co-operation between the municipal, provincial and federal governments, as well as the chamber of commerce and Invest North Bay, for making the project a success.

“When you think about Mississauga or Vaughan as alternatives, I always bring up Nipissing (and) North Bay as a great alternative.”

Canada Meat Group officially broke ground at the city’s airport industrial park in September 2018.

The company operates a meat-processing plant, abattoir and cattle operation in Kiev, Ukraine, and is developing its Canadian operation in partnership with Bavarian Meats in North Bay, who will act as the sales agent.

The City of North Bay sold Canada Meat Group an approximately three-acre site at the airport industrial park for about $123,000 and is providing financial assistance through its Airport Community Improvement Plan, including $25,135 in rebates for fees, including a building permit and site plan control agreement, and $29,862 in tax rebates over three years.

Canada Meat Group also is working with Canadore College on creating a meat processing fundamentals certificate program to train future workers for the facility.

“It is wonderful to see our airport industrial park filling up,” Mayor Al McDonald said. “As a matter of fact, our challenge now is that we’re going to have to find more land to attract more businesses to our city.”

Canada Meat Group president Oleksandr Zahrebelnyi said the plan is to finish construction by the end of October or mid-November, be licensed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency within a month, and begin small-scale production in December.

The goal will eventually be to produce 450 metric-tons of final product each month, he said.

“Working with our partners has allowed us to create this reality, so today I am confident in the success of Canada Meat Group,” Zahrebelnyi said.