PERTH-ANDOVER, N.B. – A provincially owned potato seed centre near Perth-Andover is shutting down and being sold to a private company.
Employees at the Bon Accord Elite Seed Potato Centre were given pink slips as they walked into work Tuesday morning. Ten regular workers and about 30 seasonal workers were told they were out of a job as of Friday, said Andy Hardy, president of CUPE Local 1190, who represents the workers.
“What is this privateer going to do differently to turn a profit than what we’re doing?” Hardy said.
After working at the centre for 41 years, Jerry Inman was presented a pink slip and told to clean out his locker. He said he isn’t pleased with how the situation was handled.
“They told us we had the best seed in the world and number one. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter, they’re shutting it down anyway,” Inman said.
A year ago, CUPE employees sat down with the Province to talk about the facility’s future. Hardy said they were told selling the centre wasn’t on the table.
“They told me, ‘If anything happens, we’ll give you a month’s notice,'” he said.
The centre is critical for New Brunswick farmers. Ernest Culberson owns an organic potato farm and said it’s important to know exactly what goes into the seed he buys.
“There’s nothing saying a corporation can’t change the genetics on us without us knowing it, if it’s not transparent,” he said.
Culberson is worried the centre could have ties to chemical companies. He said that might alter the seeds.
The center produces 35 varieties of potato seeds for about 20 producers in the province.
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