ST. THOMAS, Ontario | “We haven’t stopped smiling since the announcement,” said Joe Preston, Mayor of St. Thomas Protocol. “Get in my car, I’ll show you the vastness of the site that is being prepared for Volkswagen.”
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Around town, his citizens call him “Joe”. We skip the last name. Before becoming Mayor of St. Thomas, the man was a Conservative MP, but to people he remains “the Wendy’s guy,” co-owner of the Talbot Street restaurant.
During the ride, the mayor proudly points to the area of the 1400 football field. Machines fell trees. Houses and farms are gutted by bulldozers. Work to level the site is in progress.
“The website was exactly what they were looking for. The federal and provincial governments have really helped us move our presentation forward,” said Joe Preston.
When asked if Volkswagen’s battery company, PowerCo SE, is eligible for a rebate or tax exemption from the municipality, he swears no.
“Of course they pay for it,” he replies.
“There are many other incentives,” he hastily adds.
Joe Preston says he is not aware of any federal or state financial support for the mega-factory, which is scheduled to begin production in 2027.
“Very strong power lines”
While Quebec was forced to abandon the multi-billion dollar investment project for lack of transmission lines, St. Thomas had anticipated the blow, according to Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy Pierre Fitzgibbon.
Recall that after the announcement of Ontario’s election, Hydro-Quebec referred to the European multinational’s “aggressive schedule”.
“These expansions (adding or remodeling of transmission lines, equipment in our substations, etc.) could not have been completed in time according to the organizer’s aggressive schedule,” the airline told the Hydro-Quebec journal, Maxence Huard-Lefebvre.
Volkswagen wanted a country with an area of 1,400 soccer fields, about 700 megawatts, a quick realization of the project … all criteria that Quebec, according to the state-owned company, could not meet.
All close by
However, speaking to St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston, we see just how far the community has come in the battery factory race.
“We have very strong power lines near the site, right on the Coi,” the first judge insists during the interview, pointing at them.
“We knew that this site had nearby power, natural gas and water,” he continues.
Lake Erie Reservoir is a few miles away.
When asked what kind of energy will power the mega-factory, Joe Preston replies that Volkswagen “got everything it wanted.”
“My understanding is that like everywhere else in Ontario, the vast majority of the energy will come from nuclear and of course hydroelectric power,” he said.
“We had a finished website,” he summarizes.
►Automotive parts, clean energy, critical minerals, labor… The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development announced the news protocol in the last few days why “Ontario is the ideal destination for battery manufacturers”.
THE SEVEN CRUCIAL MEETINGS BEFORE THE FINAL YES
Photo by Facebook, Fordnation
Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Queen’s Park just before the 2023-2024 budget speech on March 23. The Ontario Parliament has been the scene of several meetings between Doug Ford and representatives from Volkswagen.
April 27, 2022
1. Meeting with the Board of Directors of Volkswagen North America (in person in Ontario).
October 14, 2022
2. Trade mission meeting with Volkswagen (in person in Germany).
November 7, 2022
3. Volkswagen goes to Ontario (in person in London, Ontario).
December 13, 2022
4. First meeting of Volkswagen representatives with Ontario Premier Doug Ford (in person at Queen’s Park, Ontario Parliament, Toronto).
January 13, 2023
5. Volkswagen representatives return to Ontario for a second meeting with Ford (in person at Queen’s Park).
February 8, 2023
6. Volkswagen returns to Ontario for a third meeting with Ford (in person at Queen’s Park).
February 23, 2023
7. Volkswagen returns to Ontario for a fourth meeting with Premier Doug Ford (in person at Queen’s Park).
Note: Consecutive weekly meetings with Volkswagen have been held since October 2022.
Source: Investments Ontario
“The Investment of the Century”
Photo Francis Halin
Sean Dyke, CEO of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation, and Paul Jenkins, CEO of the St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce, in front of the Jumbo Elephant, the city’s landmark which at the last turn of the century acquired the status of ” Railway capital of Canada”.
ST. THOMAS, ON | We don’t see too many electric cars on the streets of the city that just received one of the largest battery factories in the world. What you see everywhere is Jumbo the elephant who is the icon of his working class past.
Because before St. Thomas was a city beating to the rhythm of automotive mega factories, it was long the nerve center of rail travel. It’s difficult to take a few curves without crossing a level crossing.
Halfway between Detroit and Buffalo, St. Thomas quickly became a rail hub. Since the early 1900s, around 100 trains have passed through the city each day, earning it the title of “Railway Capital of Canada,” as the city mentions on its website.
But more than the floats, the image that haunts St. Thomas is that of Jumbo, a famous dead circus elephant struck by a train on September 15, 1885.
“Jumbo News”
When Le Journal offers to meet Paul Jenkins, CEO of the St Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce, and Sean Dyke, CEO of the St Thomas Economic Development Corporation, at the base of the jumbo tribute statue, we accept by saying that the Arrival of Volkswagen is “Jumbo News”.
“It is the investment of more than one generation. It’s the investment of the century,” smiles Paul Jenkins, CEO of the St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce, which represents 550 local businesses.
“From the food industry to housing and housing to manufacturing, we’re going to say to ourselves, ‘Those were the good times,'” he adds.
Beside him, Sean Dyke, CEO of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation, has the same beaming smile. He’s still enjoying the news.
“We’ve been preparing the ground since 2021,” he says.
“We have electricity near the site. Therefore, several large battery companies are interested in the location. Hydro One is just across the street,” he says.
“I think the location plays a big role. We are close to the Canadian and American supply chain,” he emphasizes.
“We’re an hour from the US border and two hours from Detroit,” he concludes.
Neighbors of the future factory fear that it will poison their existence
Photo Francis Halin
Diane Dubois and Tom Martin are stunned by the arrival of an industrial juggernaut just a few hundred yards from their family farm.
CENTRAL ELGIN, Ontario | “We know nothing about water, air, soil, noise and light pollution,” denounces Diane Dubois, who lives on the border of the land of Germany’s Volkswagen future battery megafactory.
“It makes us all cry to see this. Tom was born here in the house. The family has been there since 1933,” regrets Diane Dubois, showing the fields as far as the eye can see that are about to be transformed into a mega factory.
Devastated rural landscapes
During the Journal’s visit, the couple was nervous as they saw in the distance the destruction of the landscape coming perilously close to their farm.
“This is the best growing land and they want to build a factory,” her husband Tom Martin said impatiently, vacillating between sadness and anger.
“We have thousands of Class 2 or 3 land, but they come here on Class 1 land. This can endanger food security,” he goes on to say.
Tom Martin walks through his fields showing off his precious wetlands that irrigate his soybean and corn crops.
He says he’s never had to irrigate the plantations because water naturally flows from one pond to another when it comes to watering his crops.
But since he knows that Volkswagen is coming, he fears that he will run out of water or his quality will decrease. He could never have imagined such a scenario.
More neighbors, more friends
In the Journal, Diane Dubois and Tom Martin say they are afraid of what awaits them. A multi-billion dollar battery megafactory of this magnitude will wipe out the landscape forever, they fear.
It’s a light-hungry monster that can get hungry at any moment, stretching all the way to their home, they fear. The destruction of nature associated with such a project has been making her nervous for several weeks.
“We took the time to plant 1,000 trees between our patches of forest and 2,000 others on the other side. However, we see them continue to bulldoze away from them. It’s heartbreaking,” says Diane Dubois in a tied voice.
Photo Francis Halin
Tom Martin
“They started by buying 800 acres. The land has been bought,” explains Tom Martin, who didn’t think he would have to live through this nightmare of his life.
Piece by piece, the land grew, engulfing the neighboring farms. Today, his church has skyrocketed.
“Our neighborhood is gone. Our friends, our neighbors, they’re gone,” he sighs.
A law was quickly passed
In the Journal, Diane Dubois refers to Bill 63, which was passed by Doug Ford’s government in a hurry to obtain the land needed for Volkswagen.
This law, passed in fourth gear, has made a lot of noise in the region.
Many of Diane and Tom’s neighbors have sold their homes and farms to make way for the European giant, but they can’t talk because they’re bound by specific non-disclosure agreements.
Diane Dubois presents a copy of the law on her kitchen table.
First Reading: February 22, 2023. Second Reading: February 23, 2023. Third Reading: February 28, 2023. Passed: March 2, 2023 in the Ontario Legislative Assembly.
“It was Premier Doug Ford who passed this legislation to give St. Thomas tracts of land for Volkswagen to attract,” she says.
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