By Katie Coleman
BELLEVILLE – Protesters are occupying the farm of Frank Meyers in Quinte West for the third straight day today.
The protesters are attempting to save the land that has been in the Meyers family since 1798. Several years ago Meyers was given an ultimatum by the federal government: sign the land over for a monetary settlement or have it seized by the Department of National Defence. Meyers did eventually sign the agreement to hand over his property but now refuses the takeover.
The Department of National Defence has expropriated the 90-hectare property to build a training facility for Joint Task Force 2, the Canadian military’s elite special-forces unit.
In response to queries from QNet News Wednesday about the status of the project a spokesperson with the DND said the department “has approached this land expropriation with great sensitivity” and that project is critically important to the country and to the local community.
The demolition of the buildings on the property was scheduled to start Monday, but when a group of Meyers’s supporters showed up, workers did not proceed.
Supporters of Meyers have set up a Facebook page called Save Frank & Marjorie Meyers Farm. The page has surged up to almost 30,000 likes as of Wednesday afternoon – almost double the number of likes it had as recently as this past weekend.
The question now is: What happens next?
QNet News has asked the Department of National Defence what its next move will be, but has yet to receive a response.
More to come as the story develops.
Additional reporting by Greg Murphy, QNet News.
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