Samantha Dira-Van Den Branden was born and raised in Sarnia. Both of his grandfathers worked in what is known in Sarnia as the Chemical Valley, an area of town where there are several large refineries.
In Mrs. Dira-Van Den Branden’s family, we have respect for hydrocarbons and for what they have brought to the city over the years.
People from Alberta, other parts of Canada, Toronto come here for work
she explains.
” These are well paid jobs. […] that support the local economy. »
And while she says she is aware of the repercussions of the petrochemical industry on the region and of the recriminations of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation who deplore the effects that refineries have on them, Samantha Dira-Van Den Branden sees above all that the petrochemical industry and the investments it generates are usually synonymous with new jobs.
A despised city
An opinion shared by Cale Moore. This fellow Sarnia resident fully understands the balance that needs to be struck between climate issues and well-paying jobs.
The impact, the jobs, the resources, what we offer to the rest of the country, […] if you look at it from an employment perspective, and also everything that we produce
he says.
” I don’t think pollution levels are ideal, but I know things are better than they were 15, 30 or 40 years ago. »
Mr. Moore thinks things can only get better, considering the new investments that are being made in the city.
We have new factories that have opened, which are biochemical, we have factories that are looking for alternative means [moins polluants] to continue to produce what they are already producing from oil. […] I think we are on the right track
he says.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley agrees, even lamenting what he sees as disdain for his city, when Sarnia already leads the pack in Canada in supporting new industries.
There’s not a lot of respect for the fossil fuel industry and we need to change that because the fossil fuel industry is the future of bio-industry and the green alternative economy, and so it’s is a priority
he explains.
” We are the only place in Ontario that can boast of having a hydrogen economy right now. We have the largest ethanol plant in Canada, we have the largest field of solar panels. »
Mr Bradley thinks many people outside Sarnia only associate the town with the negatives of the petrochemical industry, but promises he and his team will keep hammering that the fossil fuel industry and the new economy go hand in hand
.
An industry in transformation
For Matthew Slotwinski, Senior Economic Development Officer with the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnershipan organization whose main objective is to attract investment and business to the region, there is a real change in the chemical industry in Sarnia.
The local petrochemical industry is really trying to identify ways to become greener, to produce less carbon and to be more sustainable
he explains.
” At the moment, considerable effort is being made to try to attract these low-carbon companies that can fit into the value chain of our core industry. »
According to Matthew Slotwinski, the presence of a major agricultural industry in the region gives Sarnia a considerable advantage when it comes to future technologies.
Traditionally, the petrochemical industry is our main industry. Things have been like this for a century. Since the agricultural industry is our second largest industry, we have an abundance of waste, biomass, or materials unusable for other purposes that can be turned into raw materials.
he explains.
For Katherine Albion, Director of Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Parkan innovation center associated with Western University, Sarnia has already entered the industry of the future.
Created in 2003, the organization she heads is, according to her official presentation a cleantech incubator, focused on large-scale industrial biotechnology
.
It currently hosts about fifty companies, explains Ms. Albion, for whom the dependence of Sarnia’s economy on hydrocarbons is not inevitable.
A certain number are specialized in technologies and operate in the field of green chemistry. Our main objective is the commercialization of sustainable and innovative technologies for the economic diversification of Sarnia-Lambton
she says.
” We have technologies ranging from 3D printing to the production of materials from biomass, alternative fuels, natural health products, water purification. »
Ms. Albion explains that some of the companies being developed within the incubator are building technologies that will enable the manufacture of products such as fuel or plastic using, for example, wood chips as a raw material.
And so, rather than using the traditional petrochemical raw way, we use a lot of renewable raw materials
she says.
For Mike Bradley, it is important that this facet of Sarnia, a city that innovates and projects itself into renewable energies, is also known to everyone.
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca