Lambton County Council has approved up to $4.5-million in loans to Bio-industrial Innovation Canada (BIC), subject to financing and repayment terms being arranged.
The Sarnia-based not-for-profit, which holds and oversees investments into companies involved in the commercialization of new technologies, requested the funds during a special meeting Thursday.
In a recorded vote, council agreed to advance $1-million from the county's Opportunities and Contingencies Reserve to leverage matching funds from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) before a March 31 deadline.
Mayor Mike Bradley said if they hadn't endorsed the loans, $4.5-million in federal money would have been lost.
"We took great risks supporting Lambton College a number of years ago, which has lead to this massive expansion, we took great risks creating the research park," said Bradley. "There's risk here. It is not a done deal that these projects will work out, but it will bring in $4.5-million of federal money to support the bio and alternative fuel industry here. There will be an industrial impact. There will also be a farm/agricultural impact."
Bradley said the funds will help create jobs and help control the area's economic destiny.
"The group has been successful. BioAmber is a good example of that," he said. "There's been a number of pilot projects announced in the last couple of weeks. This is good for everyone."
St. Clair Township Mayor Steve Arnold felt more information was needed and voted against the recommendation.
"Staff in their report said that it was a very high risk venture and I'm concerned about putting Lambton County taxpayers' money at risk in a high risk venture," said Arnold. "I also have a hard time understanding, why if they've been working at this for the 16-17 months, why is it three weeks before the deadline that they're here at county council and asking us to help them out."
BIC has invested in 14 projects since it's inception in 2008, including BioAmber's $141-million plant on Vidal St. S.
