Canada invests US$1.5 million in meat packing firm

Canada's Economic Action plan is delivering real results for the meat packing and processing sector in Ontario, as Member of Parliament David Tilson (Dufferin-Caledon) announced a US$1.5-million investment in Holly Park Meat Packers through the government's Slaughter Improvement Program.

"Investing in Holly Park Meat Packers will help increase their slaughter capacity, cut costs and improve operations making the industry more profitable and competitive," said Tilson.

Founded in 1979, Holly Park Meat Packers is one of Ontario's largest provincially inspected meat processing facilities and employs 100 people in its Cookstown and Caledon locations.

This federal investment will allow Holly Park to redesign their facility and purchase and install new equipment and technology, giving farmers the opportunity to access niche markets. The company will also use this investment to develop and implement training of new procedures required to become a federally-inspected facility.

The government's US$50-million Slaughter Improvement Program makes federal loans available to support sound business plans aimed at reducing costs, increasing revenues and improving operations of red meat packing and processing operations in Canada. Last month's budget provided an additional US$10 million for the programme.