Enbridge Gas will stay in Chatham into the foreseeable future after all.
The mayor of Chatham-Kent said he spoke directly with the CEO of Enbridge, and was told that “Enbridge will always have a significant presence in Chatham-Kent.”
"That commitment is important for our community," said Mayor Darrin Canniff in a social media post. "Enbridge has been and will continue to be a strong partner and employer right here in Chatham-Kent."
Canniff was told by Enbridge's CEO that there may be changes moving forward, but he wouldn't speculate because the conversation didn't go into that much detail.
"That's for them to discuss when they look at the bigger plan. Corporations are always looking at better ways to do things. I don't want to speculate on what will or won't happen, but the bottom line is that they realize the significance of their presence here in Chatham-Kent and will respect that," said the mayor.
The mayor noted the CEO assured him that Enbridge will always be present in our community in a "significant way."
"We’re proud of the long history Enbridge has in our community, and I will keep fighting to make sure that legacy continues here for years to come," Canniff said.
Enbridge was considering closing its office in Chatham as part of a review of its infrastructure, potentially relocating some or all of its workers in Chatham to London.
Canniff said the local economy would have been hard hit if Enbridge were to leave because out-of-town workers would stop spending here, but the tax base wouldn't be hit because Enbridge owns the building and would continue to pay property taxes along with taxes on its local pipelines.
"Certainly, it's a negative impact not to have them there in the worst-case scenario, if they were to close the door and everybody is gone, but that's not going to happen, Canniff noted.
Canniff said the municipality and Enbridge have a good relationship and characterized the conversation as good.
"We had a good discussion. Greg Ebel the CEO, he was the president of Union Gas back in the day, and he lived in Chatham during his tenure here. So, he's very familiar with Enbridge/Union Gas and the impacts they have in our community," said Canniff.
Enbridge Gas Distribution merged with Union Gas in 2019.
