Peaceful Occupation of the Meyers Farm a Success, For Now

The peaceful occupation of the Trenton Ontario farm of Frank Meyers has succeeded, for now, in preventing the demolition of Mr. Meyers’ barns, and the ultimate and irreversible seizure of his prime farmland by the Department of National Defence (DND).

Image by Occupy Canada

Though Mr. Meyers had been promised by the DND that he would receive written notice in advance of the demolition of his farm buildings, the first of the peaceful occupiers arrived at the Meyers farm early Monday morning to keep vigilant watch. On the morning of January 13, an OPP cruiser arrived at the Meyers home, and an officer informed Frank that the demolition would indeed be taking place that very day.

The first occupiers on scene, Phil Ostroskie, Kim Verner-Ostroskie and Rachelle Verner, of Prince Edward County Ontario, keeping watch from their motor home parked in the driveway of the farm, alerted Mr. Meyers as military police and demolition crews, led by Major Ronald Nelson of CFB Trenton, rolled through Meyers’ corn field. In response to this armed invasion of his property, Mr. Meyers crossed the railroad tracks onto the part of his farm that the DND claims as their own, and served Major Nelson, as well as members of the demolition crew employed by Parkside Landscaping and Contracting, with cease and desist orders.

In receipt of the cease and desist orders, the invaders retreated, but not before threatening Mr. Meyers and his supporters with arrest, should they remain on the wrong side of the tracks upon their return. Dozens of supporters arrived throughout the day Monday, as Meyers scrambled to remove as many of his belongings from his barns as possible, in case demolition crews were to succeed in their mission of destroying his property.

The presence of Meyers’ supporters as well as several national media outlets on the farm kept demolition crews and military police at bay Monday, and through the night until early Tuesday morning. Under the cover of darkness and a blanket of fog, a single military police vehicle approached Meyers’ barns by way of a makeshift road forged through the cornfield by demolition crews the previous morning. Vigilant occupiers, who had remained on the farm overnight, once again alerted Frank to the invasion, and the military police quickly retreated down the path, with 85-year-old Meyers following closely behind in his John Deere tractor.

At approximately 9:00 am on Tuesday morning, Mr. Meyers placed a call to CFB Trenton, demanding an audience on his farm with base commander Colonel David Lothian. Meyers asked that the Colonel attend with documentation in-hand, proving the legitimacy of the DND’s claimed ownership of his farm. Having received no response from the Colonel, Meyers and his supporters crossed the railroad tracks onto the DND-claimed portion of his farm, and set up camp next to the barns. Military police did not respond, and demonstrators remained for the duration of the day and through the night. 

Occupiers of the Meyers farm vow to remain on site around
the clock in order to protect the property against armed
military invasion.
Photo by Michael Clark

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for CFB Trenton told local media that demolition of the farm buildings would be postponed, citing a desire to “make this as easy as possible on the individual (Meyers)” and a recognition of the occupiers’ “right to protest”. There were, however, no statements made indicating that plans to demolish the buildings would be scrapped. Instead, it seems, the DND will wait for occupiers to leave to farm so that they can proceed unencumbered with the destruction of Meyers’ property. CFB Trenton spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Danny Breton said, “We are waiting until conditions are appropriate to continue further development of the site.”

While the military waits for peaceful occupiers of the Meyers farm to disappear so they can proceed with their plans, supporters of the farmer remain on site, and vow to stay put around the clock to protect the private property against this armed invasion.

A Message to Military and Police Employees Re: Frank Meyers' Farm

This article was also published on The Art of Not Being Governed Blog.

On November 29, we learned that 85-year-old Ontario farmer Frank Meyers had finally caved to government threats, signing a contract to sell his farm to the Department of National Defence. I have spent much time, since then, considering my response to this news.

Read previous posts about the Frank Meyers' battle with the government here, here and here.

First, Frank Meyers' ultimate decision - to submit to the government's demand that he sell his farm - is not to be condemned. At the end of the day, Frank had to make the difficult decision, in order to preserve his own life, and to mitigate the harm done to himself and his family by the government through its agents; police officers, military members, court and elected officials.

Let me be clear. The contract that Frank Meyers signed with the Department of National Defence is not valid and must not be taken as a voluntary agreement. Frank Meyers signed the contract under duress, with the guns of the state pointed at him, his family and his farm. Meyers said, "They threatened me, that’s what it was. They told us if I didn’t take the money they wanted to give me they would go to court and I wouldn’t get half of what they offered me. That’s what they said."

Notwithstanding the clear lack of consent, I do not believe that the individuals responsible for the initial decision to expropriate the Meyers farm are at all likely to, in an unprecedented act of humanity, change their minds and leave Frank Meyers alone, either because they suddenly recognize and respect the need for consent or because they are moved by letters, e-mails and tweets of their "constituents".

Since I first wrote about the Meyers case, I have taken heat from other supporters of Frank for my condemnation of military members and police officers for their roles in the expropriation of the farm. Critics told me that military members, and police, both in general and those who have been involved in the Meyers eviction, probably don't agree with the government taking this action, and that they are just following orders. This is my message to government employees - police, military members, court officials, military contractors, etc. - like the ones described by many of my critics:

If it is true that you do not agree with the government's action to expropriate Frank's farm, then you must realize that it is not the government who is acting to steal Mr. Meyers property, but individuals, including yourself, whose actions make this theft possible. If, as it has been presented to me, it is not the enforcers and administrators of laws and government policies who want to carry out this theft, but a small group of immoral decision-makers, then why do not the good men and women who, I am told work for the government, refuse to carry out these immoral and criminal orders?

If you are a police officer who enforces the DND's claimed ownership of the Meyers farm, and would be prepared to arrest Frank Meyers or his guests as trespassers on his own farm, you are a party to theft.

If you are a court employee who would work to support a process that would see Frank Meyers or his guests prosecuted as trespassers on the farm, you are a party to theft.

If you are a member of the military who would work at the new Joint Task Force training facility to be built on the Meyers farm, you are a party to theft.

If you are a military contractor, or a local resident who would work to build the new facility or to service it once built, you are a party to theft, and you are guilty of profiting from the proceeds of a criminal act.

I implore those "good" government employees, if they exist, to affirm their morality by refusing to act to support the theft of Frank Meyers' farm. While it may not sit well with you to admit, if you do not refuse to follow orders that support theft, then you are not a good person, as you would claim to be, but a thief and a criminal.

Peaceful Demonstrators Gather at Meyers Farm, Police Respond En Masse

A small but dedicated group gathered at the Trenton Ontario farm of Frank Meyers on Sunday November 17 to demonstrate in opposition to the Department of National Defence's attempt to expropriate the prime farmland in order to build a military training facility.

Does a No Trespassing sign constitute
ownership?

Organizers of the event had intended for today's demonstration to mark the beginning of a peaceful occupation of the portion of Meyers' farm and outbuilding, which had been scheduled to be demolished the following day (November 18).*

The Occupation for Peace, in opposition to the military's plans for Frank's farm, has been postponed, along with the DND's demolition plans. Frank received word from the military, Saturday, that work would not begin to convert his farm into a specialized military training facility until some time in December. It would stand to reason that the postponement of the demolition is directly related to activist plans to occupy the land. In an effort to avoid interactions with protestors, I would not be surprised to see the DND attempt to begin work without warning, and at a time close to the holidays, when activists are less capable of mobilizing (maybe between Christmas and the new year?).

While the peaceful demonstrators did not occupy the "disputed" property, more than a dozen police officers including one CN Rail officer (Sabo), four military police (McCann, Long, Frost, Currie) and several OPP officers (Steele, Gibson, et al.) arrived at Meyers' farm in a show of force and intimidation. While on scene, cruisers drove onto the undisputed private property of Frank Meyers, and officers roamed the property, despite constant reminders from demonstrators that the Meyers farm is private property, and that their presence was not welcomed.

When asked by a demonstrator about the purpose of the police presence at the peaceful gathering on the farm, Quinte West OPP officer Shelley Steele responded, "We are here to just try to keep the peace for you guys." At the peak of police presence, there were eight cruisers, and twelve to fifteen armed officers on scene, compared to fifteen to twenty peaceful, unarmed demonstrators.

The dedicated group of demonstrators on hand Sunday has vowed to return to occupy the "disputed" property in order to prevent the demolition of Frank's outbuildings, and ultimately the construction of a military training facility on his land, and say that they expect a large mobilization of supporters in the coming weeks in order to ensure a substantial number of peaceful occupiers.

For updates on the Meyers farm, and the Occupation for Peace, please like the Facebook page.

Related posts:

Trenton Farm to be Occupied for Peace...
Government Steals Land to Build Murderer Training Camp

*The government, in their infinite benevolence, will allow Meyers to maintain ownership of a small piece of property consisting of his house, as well as the farm's original homestead and a few outbuilding.