And as proof that the Spec put more than one reporter on this story...
'A difficult day' for Hamilton
Lakeport closure expected to cost city about $850,000 a year in taxes and fees
Paul Morse
The Hamilton Spectator
(Mar 31, 2010)
Hamilton's top economic development civil servant says the city had seen warning signs that Lakeport might have been in trouble.
"I'm surprised but not shocked" by the closure, Neil Everson, Hamilton's executive director of economic development, said yesterday. "We have a very aggressive corporate calling program and were there last year.
"We knew at that time that they were under capacity, down a shift, and we also know what's happening in terms of industry trends."
Big operations such as Canada Bread have consolidated production to maximize capacity. The megabakery is closing down three plants in Toronto and relocating the work to Hamilton, Everson said.
"We're just on the other end of the stick this time."
With Lakeport's closure, the city loses out on $850,000 a year. The brewery pays $200,000 in municipal property taxes a year and its annual water bill is about $650,000, Everson said.
With Labatt removing the beer production equipment from the plant, "that limits our ability to replace brewery jobs."
Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger agreed. "That makes it a lot tougher for a beer-making operation, for sure," he said yesterday.
Eisenberger said his office first got word of the closure around 10:30 p.m. Monday.
He said yesterday was "a difficult day" for Hamilton and for the dozens of employees losing their jobs.
When Labatt bought Lakeport in 2007, "there was some speculation that they were buying market share and something like this could happen," he said.
"Many folks expected it to happen sooner than it did.
"Was there an expectation that this would happen? No. But certainly there was speculation that this was their main reason for buying that operation in the first place."
Hamilton Mountain MPP and Minister of Consumer Services Sophia Aggelonitis said Labatt's decision to close the plant is "truly disappointing."
"I'm very surprised, but I understand that this is a business decision that the company felt they had to make."
She said the closure is a blow to Hamilton, and the province "will help in any way we can."
Ontario NDP Leader and Hamilton MPP Andrea Horwath said: "This is another 143 families who were making decent wages with decent benefits who have now been kicked to the curb.
"Labatt's made a good profit out of the work that was done at that facility and they have a responsibility to pay back the workers and the community."
Horwath said she asked the McGuinty government to help try to persuade Labatt to leave the brewery equipment in Hamilton so another brewery can move in.