On April 16th the Lieutenant Governor, her Honour, the Honorable Judith Guichon, began her tour of Salt Spring with a visit to the abattoir. Her three guides, Jean Brouard, Anne Macey and Margaret Thomson have been deeply involved in the planning of the facility, and lately also in its operation. The Lieutenant Governor is very familiar with BC’s meat industry, through her involvement in cattle ranching in the Interior, and understands the need for concerted community effort to address the difficulties caused by the changes in the meat regulations.
Many people have now visited the abattoir, with the largest numbers on April 12th for the Open House. The grounds were decorated, courtesy of Foxglove Farm and Garden, and coffee and cookies were served. All the Abattoir Society directors and the chair of the Agricultural Alliance were there to explain how the equipment is used and why it had to be built the way it is. The high cost of construction is easier to understand if you see all the “extras” that were required, and the amount of labour that was involved in meeting all the sometimes conflicting requirements of all the agencies involved.
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