‘Save Frank Meyers Farm’ Movement Still Pushing Government To Give Farmer Back His Land

The “Save Frank Meyers Farm” movement garnered international endeavor attention after the 85-year-old Ontario farmer’s fight against the Canadian federal government went viral. The farmer valiantly fought against “Goliath” for seven years. The farmland has been in his family since before the confederation of Canada. If the government is successful, his cherished property will be expropriated in order to expand a nearby military base.

King George III of England (1798) donated the land to his family “perpetually” and the clan has resided there ever since. Frank grows peas, corn, beans, oats, barley, and hay on the land. The Canadian Department of National Defense took control of the farmland in part a year ago. Government officials asserted possession of the farm buildings but allowed Frank Meyers to still live the family home along the railroad tracks.

Last November Frank Meyers signed an agreement to give up his land, saying at the time he felt extreme pressure from the Canadian government to do so. He had been vehemently fighting federal officials who expropriated more than 200 acres of his property for the military base expansion. Frank Meyers garnered thousands of online supporters who converged on his property to block law enforcement officers from entering and taking possession.

Save Frank Meyers Farm Facebook group founder Lisa Gibson had this to say about the loss of his land:

“This is the only thing Frank’s ever known, and if he loses his reason for getting up in the morning, he’ll die. I called Frank, asked him if I could do this, and he said, ‘Anything that you could do to help me would be appreciated.’ [I understand why he signed considering the pressure] However, I wish we could have kept fighting because I really feel we were this close to winning it.”

Frank Meyers had this to say when discussing his plight with local media:

“I didn’t want to sell, I constantly told them and told them. They told me if I didn’t sign now, I wouldn’t get half the money if I went and hired a judge. I want them out of here, I need some rest, I’ve got to get some peace. It’s going to kill me.”

Northumberland-Quinte West Conservative MP Rick Norlock stated that the Crown never reversed the original property grant and noted other farmers experienced expropriations in their respective regions as well. According to Norlock, the construction of an administrative anti-terrorist unit campus and training facilities has caused an “exponential economic implication.”

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reportedly had this to say about the land acquisitions:

“Farmlands and people’s homes are special, but in the end you have to look at the greater good. This expropriation and the brinigng in of this unit will go a long way to accommodate the health and safety of the people of Quinte West.”

Anytime a politician starts tossing about terms like the “greater good” you just know some unsuspecting individual is about to get the short end of the stick. Frank Meyers was reportedly sitting on some of the most fertile farmland in Canada – it is now about to all get bulldozed and buried under rock.