Lacombe mayor, reeve hopeful about feds reviewing closure of ag research centre

Central Alberta municipal leaders are back from trying to convince Ottawa lawmakers to reverse a decision to close a federal agricultural research facility.

The mayor and reeve of Lacombe and its surrounding county are hopeful the federal government will reverse a decision to close a local agriculture research facility.

After Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced in late January it was closing seven such research operations across the country, the Lacombe leaders asked the department’s standing committee to reconsider.

The standing committee agreed to review the decision, inviting both Lacombe Mayor Thalia Hibbs and Leduc County Reeve John Ireland to Ottawa on Feb. 26 to speak during public hearings.

“I can’t say there were promises, but the mere fact that they were willing to even conduct this study was … great. Inviting us to come and speak and offer testimony, that was great, because now it contextualizes it. It makes it real,” Hibbs told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.

“I feel like it was well received, I think that we were heard, and I’m feeling a lot more optimistic after my trip.”

The Lacombe Research and Development Centre, located on the south side of the city of 15,000 south of Edmonton, studies livestock and meat production. According to its website, researchers are due to finish this month a study on the benefits of crop rotation cycles with perennial forages, and later this year a study on the effects of feeding pregnant cattle canola. The site also hosts a federally regulated abattoir.

“There has been a lot of investment in our research station in the last 10 years, so it’s strange that they would shut it down,” Ireland said.

Established in 1907, the centre employs more than 100 people, making it one of the biggest employers in the area.

Hibbs and Ireland told the standing committee closing the site would have irreversible impact not only locally but nationally.

“We have a changing climate; we have international sanctions, trade, tariffs (and) whatnot. We need to maintain the top-quality product,” Ireland told CTV News Edmonton.

To the committee, Hibbs said, “A pause costs very little; a mistake costs over a century of public investment.”

Among the things she requested was a life-cycle assessment of the centre’s assets and a cost-benefit analysis.

The hearings will continue throughout the month, then the standing committee will provide a report to Minister Heath MacDonald.

“We understand that our research centres are deeply connected to their communities, and that the closures of our sites will have an impact,” an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada spokesperson said in a statement. “A full closure of sites cannot occur immediately, as it involves a complex series of decisions that must be carefully worked through. The wind-down of science operations at affected sites could take up to 12 months, varying by location, with full divestiture expected to take longer.

“Regarding the Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is engaging with affected parties, including the province, municipality, local partners, and stakeholders, to ensure clear communications and a smooth transition process.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nicole Weisberg