Located on route 101, a fairly busy thoroughfare, the Barbe Broue microbrewery is very visible as you pass by. (File photo)
The Barbe Broue company wins its case before the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec (CPTAQ), which accepts its request for exemption.
The CPTAQ thus authorizes the only microbrewery in the Témiscamingue to hold a restaurant and microbrewery business this summer on its land located on Route 101, in Nédélec, which saves the company a forced move.
This is revealed by a decision issued by the Commission on Monday. Recall that the company was the subject of two complaints before the CPTAQ because of its commercial activities, which had been taking place since the summer of 2021 on land reserved for agriculture.
Barbe Broue has opened a shop in Nédelec. (File photo)
Barbe Broue's management declined our interview request, preferring to speak via their Facebook page and email. This situation caused us a lot of unnecessary stress, we could have been kicked out of our home. I prefer to relay positive information to you, indicates in particular by email the co-owner of the company, Carole Marcoux.
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The municipality of Nédélec, which has repeatedly expressed its support for the company, is delighted with the decision of the CPTAQ.
The general manager and clerk-treasurer of Nédélec, Lise Dénommé, believes that the loss of the company would have been akin to a form of bankruptcy.
The municipal office of Nédélec, in Témiscamingue. (File photo)
It's always a feeling of bankruptcy when you lose a business, because we are here to try to attract our merchants to our small municipality and not to lose them. It would have been received as a bankruptcy of the municipality if we had not been able to convince [the CPTAQ]. It was essential to keep the company with us, says Ms. Dénommé.
Barbe Broue is considered by the municipality as an essential lever for its transformation and revitalization.
We work very hard. I would like to set up a service station if someone was interested in coming to Nédélec with perhaps a small convenience store to offer local products, she points out.
The Commission confirms in its decision that the project will create four to five new jobs in the short term in an economically devitalized territory.
The Federation of The Union of Agricultural Producers of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, for its part, had not expressed any opposition to the Barbe Broue agritourism and agro-processing project.
