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Black hats
I expect the anxiety percolates beyond County coffee shops. That state of general unease when strangers come to town. Seeking to invest. It is, of course, the clichéd premise of most every western saga. A familiar pattern. First suspicion, as the unfamiliar rogues roll into town. Then arched skepticism when their scheme is unveiled. Followed by a sharp sense of victimization by the locals who feel they’ve been swindled— the prosperity that properly belonged to them, has been snatched from under their feet. Enter the white hat to reset the balance. Sunset. Horse. Credits.
The fact that it is such a well-worn story line suggests it is rooted in primal motivations. Likely born on the savannah, where survival depended upon staking out hunting grounds and dispatching intruders with alacrity and brutality.
Yet, somewhere along the way we figured out how to cooperate. We learned that working with others produced more than we needed to subsist. Our species began to thrive. Began to civilize. Folks can argue whether that is a good or bad thing—I lean decidedly on the good—but surely most of us can agree it is better to cooperate than to revert to our baser inclinations.
Yet investment in our community is still too often greeted with the same mix of suspicion and large dollop of skepticism. Victimization still tends to follow the success of the investing enterprise. It is oddly counter to our own well-being.
Two and half decades ago, a machinist invested in grapes in Waupoos. Ed Neuser’s vision and audacity sparked a winegrowing sector that spawned hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in Prince Edward County. Culinary investors followed. Cideries. Beer makers. Specialty and value-added ag.
Today Prince Edward County is a powerful brand. It projects fine taste, high quality, authenticity and natural goodness. The County brand tells the world that we are keen to deliver the very best. It generates employment, tax revenue and further investment.
Yet, some continue to view these investors with suspicion, skepticism and in some cases, thinly veiled hostility. Why? It is hard to know for sure. For some, the existential challenges in their life must have an external cause. Still others harbour the delusion that economies are smorgasbords—that factory jobs would pay better. Easier work. For others it is plain protectionism, against self-interest.
It was truly bizarre to witness the outcry when, a decade ago, a national pharmacy chain proposed to set up shop in Picton. Or when a developer sought to build desperately needed seniors residences adjacent to H.J. McFarland Home in Picton.
Or, more recently, the generalized grumbling by folks in Picton and Wellington who must endure an active and thriving Main Streets for a few weekends each year.
This week we have a former auto parts maker looking to invest in Prince Edward County. Some of the same old gripes again are rising to the surface. Why would he do it? That land can’t grow cattle? He must have an ulterior motive. Surely, he is playing us for suckers.
Frank Stronach came to the County last week with a simple proposal: He will build a beef processing plant, and if we are prepared to feed our cattle grass and finish them with grain, he will pay County farmers a premium. Anyone interested?
Instinctively, however, we huddle nervously in small groups to assess the threat posed by this stranger.
His plan, currently, is modest. A 10,000 square foot processing facility. That is roughly equal to about three-fifths the size of the ice surface at the Dukedome. He and his family have assembled several thousand acres in South Marysburgh. I don’t know if it is suitable land upon which to raise cattle—but it really isn’t my business or concern. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, the animals will go away and the land will revert to the mostly cedars it is now.
But we are rattled.
We really need to shake off the rustic frontier-folk fearfulness. Instead, we are encouraged to embrace investment with confidence, while making it steely eyed clear that we hold dear a set of values that we will protect as if they are newborns. Environmental stewardship. Neighbourliness. Honour. Truthfulness. Respect. Cooperation.
Why? Three reasons. One, we need investment to fuel an economy upon which we feed our families. Second, investors are coming in any event. Either we shrink timidly, or we stand tall and lay out the terms upon which we do business. Thirdly, it is a bad look for a proud and successful community.
I left Picton 30 years ago. I see that the people want what we had. It’s too late to hold on to the Picton of the past. Build on what family traditions we were all raised with. Grow with the love for the land. It’s sad but true that you need to change to grow. Family tradition. Remember the 60’s 70’s and 80’s but move on into 2020. Preserve the core and take care of business.
Welcome Stronach with open arms. Take the jobs. Maybe someone can take the organic waste and start a biochar business from it. Eh! Look at the bright side.
It seems to me if an individual comes to the County with an idea for a business that will fundamentally alter an environmentally sensitive area a healthy dose of skepticism is a natural reaction. This is especially true if there is no market research, no business plan, and the whole thing is based on instinct and “touching the soil”. This reaction is not “frontier-folk fearfulness”; it is common sense. Plan A was to landscape these properties with IWTs – that went nowhere. This is simply Plan B – an attempt to salvage something from an investment that didn’t work out the first time.