NEWS
editionap.ca Convent conversion touted as blessing for Hill
izens present could address council at the last regular session. However, so m e have alread y expressed their opposition to the plan. Concerns have included a rise in cri m inal activit y to a drop in propert y values. Yet Mercier m aintained that studies have shown that a rehab centre produces a net benefit for a host co mm unit y . For ever y $1 spent on a recover y , $4 to $6 go into the co mm unit y , he contended. “Studies show that overall, propert y values would in- crease, not decrease,” the planner said. Such a facilit y would help reduce cri m inal activit y , since m an y offences are m otivated b y dependenc y , added Cha m pagne. Cha m pagne and Mercier assured town- ship council that no for m al bid for a re- quired zoning change would be m ade until an infor m ation m eeting is held later this m onth to provide m ore details on the pro- posed addiction treat m ent centre. The organization, which also operates a centre in Montebello, chose the Vankleek Hill site because “it offers a fa m il y environ- m ent,” Cha m pagne said.
The facilit y , which would acco mm odate up to 70 sober clients fro m Ontario at an y given ti m e, will be run according to strict govern m ent standards, he insisted. While the constantl y m onitored centre would be staffed b y professionals, on a ratio of one staff m e m ber for ever y 11 clients, jobs would also be available for locals, said Mer- cier. Financed b y donations fro m businesses, the foundation is deter m ined to m ake the financial co mm it m ent required to m ake the centre a realit y , Cha m pagne affir m ed. Esti m ating renovation costs at $300,000 to $500,000, Cha m pagne co mm ented: “We are
willing to do whatever it takes.” The for m er convent had been the cen- tre of speculation since the su mm er, when ru m ours began circulating that the three- store y structure on Higginson Street would be converted into a drug and alcohol reha- bilitation centre. The future vocation of the site has been up in the air since owner Josée To m aban- doned her bid in 2009 to convert the build- ing into a spa. She has been tr y ing to sell the propert y for $1,250,000. Before its clos- ure in 2009, the convent had been used b y the Soeurs de Sainte-Marie-de-Na m ur, an order that first ca m e to town in 1886.
RICHARD MAHONEY richard.mahoney@eap.on.ca
VANKLEEK HILL | The conversion of the for m er Vankleek Hill convent into an addiction treat m ent centre would be a boon for the co mm unity. That assertion b y La Fondation ange gardien representatives raised so m e e y e- brows at a recent Cha m plain Township council m eeting. But Daniel Cha m pagne, general m anager of the organization, and planner Pierre Mercier are confident con- cerns will be alla y ed once citizens have be- co m e m ore fa m iliar with the plan. “We are not a jail; we are a treat m ent centre. We are not bringing in cri m inals. We want to be part of the co mm unit y ,” stressed Cha m pagne as he and Mercier outlined the positive aspects of the pro- posed drug and alcohol rehabilitation cen- tre, ear m arked for one of the oldest and m ost pro m inent buildings in town. Because of the for m at of the council m eeting, none of the approxi m atel y 30 cit-
Montebello Packaging banks on new, unique lines
Richard.mahoney@eap.on.ca HAWKESBURY | The key to the long-ter m stability of Montebello Packaging will be the develop m ent of new unique lines that nobody else can copy, says co m pany pres- ident Betty Jean Pilon. While re m aining opti m istic that the Hawkesbur y fir m would rehire the approxi- m atel y 50 workers laid off two weeks ago, Pilon concedes that the co m pan y faces challenges fro m cheap i m ports and a slug- gish econo my . “I have never seen this be- fore,” she said of the current cli m ate. The m aker of alu m inu m collapsible tubes for phar m aceutical, cos m etics, food and ink m arkers is deter m ined to find new custo m - ers, she said.“We have hired m ore sales peo- ple,” related Pilon, adding that the co m pan y is focusing on research and develop m ent to devise new products. About 45 production workers re m ain at the Aberdeen Street fac- tor y , where another 40 people work in the co m pan y ’s head office. The affected workers were alread y par-
ticipating in a job-sharing progra m . “We cannot co m pete with the cheap i m ports,” said the co m pan y president, relating that plants in India are turning out tubes for less than half the price of Montebello Packag- ing’s containers. The m ost recent cut in the workforce ca m e when L’Oreal Cos m etics ended a contract with the local m anufac- turer. “L’Oreal has gone with the Venezu- elans. That represents 35 m illion pieces, our longest production line. The reason was purel y cost. The Venezuelans have lower la- bour and electricit y costs and the y get sub- sidies for alu m inu m .” A division of the Ji m Pattison Group, Montebello Packaging also has operations in Lachine, Québec, as well as Virginia and Kentuck y . Pilon refuted sug- gestions that the Hawkesbur y plant was be- ing graduall y downsized because of an ex- pansion of the co m pan y ’s plant in Lebanon, Kentuck y . The A m erican operation special- izes in the production of aerosol cans, while the Hawkesbur y plant produces collapsible tubes for a wide range of products.
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