Cargill's Sarnia manager is shedding some light on the company's Minister's Zoning Order (MZO) application and explaining why residential developments near its grain terminal could be detrimental to business and the agricultural sector.
Cargill Limited submitted an MZO application in late 2024, asking for a prohibition on sensitive land uses within 300 metres of the Exmouth Street facility.
The move shocked Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, who expressed concern in January about how it could impact proposed projects if the MZO is approved.
Manager Ryan Lefebvre said he met with Bradley and city staff multiple times over the past several years, before the MZO was submitted, and begged the city not to allow sensitive land builds including residential, hospital, or daycares.
"Forgive me Mr. Mayor, if I don't think you're listening," said Lefebvre, who also said he had similar conversations with Village of Point Edward Mayor Bev Hand.
"Perhaps they don't remember meeting. My coffee is not that memorable at the terminal," he joked.
As of May 5, Lefebvre said the MZO application is still "up in the air."
"The minister has to decide whether or not he will advance it into the public comment phase. My understanding is that decision should be made within the next 60 days," he said. "If he does advance it, then it will sit in the public comment period for roughly 30 to 60 days as the minister sees fit. So we're waiting."
Lefebvre said groups, like the Grain Farmers of Ontario, and some Lambton County municipalities have sent letters to the province in support of Cargill's MZO request because of how important it is to the agricultural sector, as Sarnia is one of a few export terminals in southern Ontario.
"We need to export about 2 million tons of wheat, about 4 million tons of soybeans, and about a million tons of corn to keep the whole system balanced," he said.
Everything Cargill does relates to food. Lefebvre said the chicken burger you eat at McDonald's, the Stevia packets or Mars bars you buy at the grocery store, or the Purina chow you feed to your dog, all relate to Cargill.
Lefebvre said it would be "shortsighted" to imply Cargill wouldn't be impacted by a high-rise residential building at the former Stokes By The Bay property.
He explained his concerns about a complaint-driven process, where grievances about dust, noise, and truck traffic could force the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to lower its limits.
"They'll lower it to something I cannot meet because I handle grain, and that will be 97 years of history gone," said Lefebvre. "It's not like we have not seen this play out before. We closed a mill in Toronto."
Lefebvre also noted the closure of New-Life Mills in Wyoming.
He said Cargill has invested just over $12 million over the past 12 years in dust collection. However, there are still plumes of dust during the loading process.
Lefebvre said the lands in Sarnia and Point Edward within a 300 metre radius of Cargill can be utilized for different developments that are not considered sensitive land uses, including a possible humane society.
"My understanding is the humane society is zoned light industrial of some sort, it is not a sensitive land use," he said. "So the humane society can do anything they want except turn their building into residential, hospital, or daycare. Doggy daycare doesn't count."
Point Edward had rezoned a large plot of land on Exmouth Street to allow for residential development, but Lefebvre said he thinks it would be better utilized as a staging area to service Sarnia's heavy lift corridor.
"I've had multiple people contact our business and say, 'Do you have room to park a 300 metric tonne reactor for a week or two?' No, I don't," Lefebvre said.
Meanwhile, Enniskillen Mayor Kevin Marriott previously floated the idea of Cargill relocating its facility to a different location in Lambton County to avoid curtailing future residential development.
Lefebvre said it was "a novel approach" that ultimately wouldn't work unless the government was willing to come to the table to discuss the possibility.
"The problem is it would cost somewhere in the order of maybe $250 million to $350 million to build my terminal new somewhere else, and the margins are not there," he said.
With over 70 locations across Canada, Cargill currently employs about 50 people at its Sarnia site, which opened in 1927. Lefebvre said they have 25 full-time staff and seasonal workers, who come on from spring to Christmas.
With 184 silos, the Emouth Street site has a capacity of 154,000 metric tons of grain.
Lefebvre was the guest speaker during Tuesday's Kiwanis Club of Sarnia-Lambton Golden K meeting.
