Raw meat hanging in a large refrigerator. (stock photo/ID 5491497 © Duncan Noakes | Dreamstime.com)

By Charlene Tebbutt

Abattoir

Plans for new abattoir pass initial approvals

Apr 24, 2019 | 5:45 PM

A local entrepreneur is eyeing an expansion that would allow for a new abattoir just south of the city in the Rural Municipality of Prince Albert.

Eric Schmalz has received approval from the R.M. to renovate the auction house at Schmalz Auctions for the new abattoir. The approval is pending a decision from the provincial government on whether the R.M. can change its current bylaw to allow an abattoir as a discretionary use in the area.

Schmalz is hoping to have the new facility up and running sometime in the fall, once all approvals are in place. If all goes according to plan, the new abattoir would be approximately 5,000 square feet and will be able to butcher animals such as sheep, hogs, cattle and bison, and feature a small retail shop as well.

Schmalz, who also operates a small heritage farm east of Prince Albert, said he’s working with a consulting firm in Ontario on the project. The facility would be federally accredited and approved and would employ about six people, he added.

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“We’re not looking to build a hodge-podge facility here, this is going to be a state-of-the-art operation,” Schmalz added. “There’s going to be government inspectors, there are strict requirements by the health region and the CFIA inspector on how animals are handled, and how waste is managed.”

At least one local-area resident is concerned about plans for the new abattoir, however. Kenton McAuley owns Southside Storage and acreages in the area and said he’s worried the abattoir will cause odours and affect his business.

“When I bought the property, there was nothing in the bylaws that would allow abattoirs or slaughterhouses [and] unbeknownst to me, they changed that,” McAuley said. “It should be in the definition of what an abattoir is in the bylaws, according to my information, and I don’t even think they have a definition of what an abattoir is, and if they do, it’s a very loose one that’s just going to give us grief down the road.”

Jason Kaptein, director of planning with the R.M. of Prince Albert, said the R.M. is supportive of the abattoir and has gotten feedback that more businesses are needed in the area south of Prince Albert. The abattoir would be the first for the R.M. of P.A., he said.

“These things are also heavily regulated by public health,” Kaptein added. “And there’s provincial rules around slaughterhouses, both in terms of the sanitary sewer regulations and in terms of food preparation.”

The R.M. has held a public hearing on the issue, Kaptein said.

“Development permits will be next and certain restrictions could be put into place by the R.M.,” he added.

Schmalz said the plan also involved moving auction services to a different location on the same property if the abattoir is approved to go ahead.

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Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt