Since consultations opened on an alternative route for high-speed rail through eastern Ontario, communities across the region have been providing their feedback on the proposed project.
Councils in South Frontenac and Rideau Lakes voted to formally oppose the alternative, more southerly route due to its potential impact on properties in the area, including environmentally sensitive areas such as the Frontenac Arch Biosphere.
Meanwhile, local employers and business groups appeared before Kingston city council on Feb. 17 to push for an Alto stop in the Kingston area and for Alto to go back to the drawing board and find another route through eastern Ontario. Kingston city council passed a motion calling on the minister of transportation to add a Kingston-area stop to Alto’s mandate and expressing the city’s opposition to the project should it not include such a stop. The letter suggested Alto seek a route more closely aligned with Highway 401.
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Advanced Business Interiors (ABI) is Making Space Work in Ottawa
ABI’s journey began with a small team on Thurston Drive in 1989; four locations and almost 37 years later, Advanced Business Interiors is now one of the largest office furniture
The original plan for Alto’s route through eastern Ontario followed a mostly straight line between Ottawa and Peterborough, with no stops in eastern Ontario. Alto’s mandate is a seven-stop high-speed rail project travelling between Quebec City and Toronto, with a tentative completion date of 2027. The Crown corporation previously told OBJ its mandate from the federal government does not include a stop in eastern Ontario.
FedDev Ontario invests in five eastern Ontario life sciences companies
Four Kingston life sciences businesses and one from Cornwall are the inaugural recipients of funding from a new program designed to support life sciences startups in eastern Ontario.
Cornwall-based Cntrl+ along with eTransplant, LenSense, mDetect and Octane will accelerate the commercialization of their technologies as part of the Helix Funding program, managed by Kingston Economic Development Corp. and funded by FedDev Ontario.
A spokesperson for Kingston Economic Development Corp. told OBJ the five companies will collectively receive $282,700 from the federal agency, which the companies will match and invest in their commercialization projects. All funding is to be used before the project end date of March 31, 2028.
The companies were selected based on how their proposed project would increase their technology readiness level, support entry into new markets or enable business expansion. Additional considerations included the project’s potential economic impact, such as job creation, company growth and broader benefits to the eastern Ontario economy.
Napanee passes new investment attraction strategy
Napanee town council has approved a plan to help attract more businesses to town.
During a Feb. 10 meeting, staff proposed policy changes to increase industrial, commercial and residential development in the area. These included assigning a single point of contact for each eligible development file, streamlining concurrent technical reviews, ensuring tax and development charge payments are flexible to help developers manage cash flow issues, and ensuring more employment land is ready for development.
Township staff cited Napanee’s tax and cost of living advantages as well as its location as key assets that could be used to help sell the town as a development destination.
Ontario government launches Succession Ontario hub for retiring entrepreneurs
With more than 500,000 small businesses in Ontario accounting for approximately 98 per cent of all businesses and employing nearly 2.5 million people, only one in 10 have a formal succession plan, according to the Ontario government.
That’s why the province is spending $2 million and working with 54 Small Business Enterprise Centres across the province to help small business owners transition their life’s work to the next generation, including eight centres in eastern Ontario.
The program, delivered by Kingston Economic Development Corp., is intended to help retiring entrepreneurs develop a roadmap, determine the value of their company, build a succession team, and identify exit options.
We-Can Project to wind down in May
The We-Can Project, a Queen’s University initiative designed for women-identifying and non-binary entrepreneurs in the greater Kingston and Bay of Quinte regions, is shutting down on May 29.
Program coordinator Kerry Ramsay said budgetary reasons prompted the closure of the program, which offered coaching, events and similar resources. She said We-Can supported 1,800 women entrepreneurs during its six-year run.
Quinn’s Meats abattoir to be rebuilt in Tweed
The owners of Quinn’s Meats say they will rebuild, but not in Yarker, Ont.
Quinn’s, an abattoir and retail store, burned down in June 2024. Following the fire, the owners, Enright Cattle Company, opted to rebuild, but decided that meeting the current provincial regulations while also maintaining the previous facility’s capacity would require a larger building lot.
Kara Enright told OBJ the family spent a significant amount of time trying to make the existing location work, but, in addition to the size restrictions, the site did not have adequate natural gas service to accommodate more modern equipment.
The new Quinn’s will be located in Tweed along Highway 37. Enright said the building permit application will be submitted in the near future, with a goal of construction beginning this summer and concluding within a year.
The land in Yarker where Quinn’s was located is now for sale.
Quinn’s was the only abattoir in the region, following a decision by the Correctional Service of Canada not to re-open the Joyceville Institution abattoir.
RV Canada opens superstore in Gananoque
Leisure Days RV Group has consolidated its eastern Ontario footprint into one superstore in Gananoque, which has been rebranded RV Canada 1000 Islands.
Beyond the name change and a visual refresh, the company says it will expand its on-site inventory. Together with its RV Canada flagship store in Ottawa, the location will give Leisure Days RV Group a unified service and inventory network along the 401/416 corridor, the company said.
As part of the consolidation, Leisure Days RV Group is selling a parcel of land on Princess Street in Kingston that was intended for a future RV dealership.
