July 5, 2018 - Paul Morden, The Sarnia ObserverLambton County council voted this week to move ahead on a $500,000-investment with a Sarnia-based agency helping young companies start production of bio-based products.It was part of a loan and investment arrangement the county agreed to last summer with Bioindustrial Innovation Canada so the agency could fully tap into matching federal funds.Bioindustrial Innovation Canada is a government-funded agency that works to help new sustainable technologies reach the market.The original deal called for the agency to receive a $2.5-million loan plus a $2 million investment by the county.John Innes, general manager of the county division responsible for finances, said the agency said recently it was now only seeking a $500,000 investment, along with $2.5-million in loans.On Wednesday, county council approved investments of $125,000 in Comet Biorefining, $250,000 in Origin Materials and $125,000 in Benefuel.All three companies have plans to set up production sites in Sarnia.The county will be taking on a portion of the agency�s investments in each of the three companies.�It�s the economic direction we�ve chosen for the county and here was a chance to have investment in three of the corporations that are moving forward,� said Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley.The agency is one of several organizations in Sarnia-Lambton that have been at work for several years attracting bio-industries to operate alongside the traditional oil refineries and petrochemical plants in what�s known as Chemical Valley.Not all members of county council support the investments in the agency.St. Clair Township Mayor Steve Arnold, who was among those voting against the investments, said he�s concerned about the county taking on that role.�I believe that private industry should be private,� he said.�We�re starting the blur the lines of where we invest the dollars that we raise in taxes.�Arnold also questioned why only a few companies should benefit from county support when many others are also investing and operating in the community.�Those people don�t have an opportunity to have money given to them by the County of Lambton from the tax base,� he said.Bradley said he understands the position of those questioning the county making that type of investment but added, �If we�re not in there, we�ll have more difficulty accessing other funds from the provincial and federal governments in the years ahead.�Bradley said he points to the example of the �tremendous risk� the county and city took several years ago to buy the former Dow Chemical building to establish the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park.�It has paid untold dividends,� he said.The spending county council approved Wednesday is a �strategic investment in an industry we have picked to be our future,� Bradley said.pmorden@postmedia.com
