Smiths Falls (2006 population 8,777) is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is in the census division for Lanark County, but is considered a separated town and does not participate in county government. The Rideau Canal waterway locks in three locations in the town with four separate locks and a combined lift of over fifty feet.
The town's name was sometimes alternately spelled "Smith's Falls" or "Smith Falls", but "Smiths Falls" is now considered correct.
The town is on the Rideau Canal system for recreational boating, and is served by the Smiths Falls-Montague Airport for general aviation. It is also a major railway junction point, and its station receives regular passenger service to Ottawa and Toronto from VIA Rail.
Several manufacturers are based in Smiths Falls, perhaps the most well-known being the Canadian operation of The Hershey Company which closed in December 2008. Hershey announced they will instead open a factory in Mexico where they can have cheaper labour. In late 2006, the plant was temporarily closed due to a case of possible salmonella contamination. The Hershey Plant was later bought by Aquablue International, a Canadian water bottling company.
The Ontario Provincial Police Eastern Region Communications Centre is also located in Smiths Falls. Its communications operators answer emergency 9-1-1 and administrative phone lines, dispatching OPP officers as required.
The Rideau Regional Centre, located in Smiths Falls, has for many years provided institutional care for more than 3000 mentally disabled people. The province is currently in the process of closing this institution; this will mean the loss of the area's largest employer, with over 800 people facing unemployment.
The downtown core is growing steadily with new businesses, such as Davidson's Courtyard, Coffee Culture , Spotlight on the Rideau and many more. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
