The employment center at St. Clair College in Amherstburg is closing at the end of the month.
The lease has expired and the college said it does not want to prevent the landlord from renting it to another tenant the landlord said he has because the college will no longer provide the provincially funded service after next March .
College spokesman and vice-president John Fairley said landlord Lou Mikail had proposed that the college share the space, located in the Pickering Street Mall with the other tenant.
“With employment agencies you really don’t want to share space, so what we did was we approached the [Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Skills Development] say, could we get out of the lease in August? So that’s what we did,” Fairley said.
Mikail’s version of events differs. He said he only offered the other tenant after the college announced he was withdrawing.
Fairley said employment services will be provided at the college’s Roundhouse Center Employment Center in Windsor until the end of March 2023. Fairley said those unable to attend in person can communicate by phone or online.
But Amherstburg Councilor Donald McArthur vows to fight the closure. He said services should be provided in person and in Amherstburg.
“The other thing, these people who work there now, they work in Amherstburg, they go out, they shop in Amherstburg on their way home. They get gas and they go to stores in Amherstburg. So I don’t want to see those jobs taken out of town nor do I want to see Amherstburg residents looking for jobs having to leave town,” McArthur said.
Enough said, six people are employed at the Amherstburg center. He said they are employees of the college and will work at the Roundhouse Center office. McArthur said he would contact Essex MP Anthony Leardi, town mayor Aldo DiCarlo and MP Monte McNaughton, the minister responsible, to fight to keep the office open.
Fairley said the agency that gets the contract to run the employment office next year may reopen an office in Amherstburg. He did not rule out the province finding another agency sooner.
CBC has contacted the ministry for a response. A spokesperson said one would be forthcoming but could not meet our publication deadline.
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