The local Golden K Kiwanis Club wants to know why Sarnia-Lambton wasn't considered for a new Volkswagen battery plant that's being built in St. Thomas.
Member John Ward presented the question to Lambton CAO Stéphane Thiffeault and Warden Kevin Marriott during Tuesday's Golden K meeting. Ward said despite the community being the focus of the chemical industry, and having the skills needed to handle batteries, Sarnia-Lambton wasn't even in the running for the plant.
Thiffeault explained why the project likely wouldn't have worked in Ontario's Blue Coast.
"Our understanding is that the serviced land capacity here was not available. It was quickly available over there, provided that there was a quick amalgamation between the two local municipalities, [St. Thomas and Central Elgin]," said Thiffeault. "So the province essentially said 'those lands are no longer yours, St. Thomas,' and vise versa, and quickly developed a bid."
Plans for the battery site were unveiled in March, and the German automaker was officially welcomed to St. Thomas last month.
The plant, set to open in 2027, will span 1,500 acres or roughly 210 football fields. Warden Marriott said there wasn't many sites available that had that many acres.
"And I believe that the feds and province had to act quick in order to have a place, shovel-ready, to compete with the money that was being offered in the US to attract the same company to those different states," said Marriott. "And they were able to have it ready to go within weeks or months."
Thiffeault added that the Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership (SLEP) has a number of projects in the pipeline in this field.
"I can assure you that Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership, the employees there, are digging hard and working hard," said Thiffeault. "There's no doubt about it, Sarnia-Lambton is at the table."