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| Crowd gathered to hear Agriculture Minister George Webster's announcement Wednesday. (Ryan Hicks/CBC) |
The Agriculture Insurance Corporation will
move from Charlottetown to Kensington, Agricultural Minister George Webster
announced today.
“Relocating the Agriculture Insurance
Corporation to Kensington reflects government’s commitment to create new economic
opportunities in rural communities across Prince Edward Island,” Webster said
in a news release.
“This move will transfer agricultural jobs to
the heart of the farming community and will provide services from a central
location, making more efficient use of government assets.”
The AIC is a Crown corporation that provides
crop insurance and income support programs to farmers.
These programs are jointly funded by the
federal and provincial governments. There are approximately 42 permanent and
casual employees, many of whom work in field positions.
Webster says the AIC will move from a rental
facility on the Research Station property in Charlottetown — owned by the
federal government — to a facility Potato Services Building the province
already owns.
The province said it was paying $50,000 per
year in rent for the AIC.
The AIC staff will relocate in the spring of
2013.
Kensington's mayor says he's been lobbying
Sheridan and Webster for more provincial jobs in his town for the last few
years.
"I said we need something in the town of
Kensington, the town is growing, it's been dynamic and they finally responded
to that," Gordon Coffin said.
At the Kensington Food Basket, owner Dave
Boucher said he's hopeful the influx of new workers will mean a bump for his business.
"You know 42 people if they spent $5 a
day in the store, it's $5 a day we didn't have, so it's hard to say,"
Boucher said.
Not everyone is excited about the move.
"There's no economic gain to this
province by taking from one part of province to give to another," said
Clifford Lee, Charlottetown's mayor.
"The only gain here is political gain
for certain MLAs. The City of Charlottetown has eight MLAs representing this
city and I think it's time for some of them to stand up and represent the
community they were elected in."
No one from the Union of Provincial Sector
Employees was available for comment.
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