Dear Editor,
It is time to re-purpose the use of the land currently occupied by 4th Canadian Division Training Centre. With release of the Federal government 2024 budget, there is a way to do this.
Here is an excerpt from the section on handling the housing crisis.
(Link to the 2024 budget site)
https://www.budget.canada.ca/2024/report-rapport/chap1-en.html#s1-1
Building Homes on National Defence Lands
“National Defence owns 622 properties across every province and territory, totalling 2.2 million hectares, in addition to providing housing to many members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Many of these National Defence properties in cities and communities across Canada are not fully utilized and could be unlocked to build more homes for Canadian Armed Forces members, and civilians, to live in.
“The review of federally owned lands and properties announced as part of the government’s work to build homes on public lands is also expected to identify additional National Defence properties with a high potential for housing development.”
The land occupied by the Meaford Tank Range has previously been the home of Indigenous peoples and the people of St. Vincent. It was unfairly taken away from the residents of St. Vincent when the land was expropriated in 1942 and earlier from the Indigenous peoples through colonialism. This is a great opportunity to right the many wrongs that were done to the people that have lived there.
When the land at St. Vincent was expropriated, the people living there were asked to pack up and leave immediately. All the homes, churches and schools were left behind. Although those buildings have been neglected and are now derelict or have been torn down, the basic infrastructures such as roads are still there making the rebuilding of the town easier.
It is said that the land cannot be used because of the danger from the undetonated artillery strewn throughout the property. This is a feeble excuse, it can be cleaned up. After the Second World War, they cleaned all the bombs that fell on Europe and rebuilt. Also, what are they going to do once the war in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip ends (I pray that it will be soon). There is already a tremendous amount of unexploded artillery there, especially from cluster bombs. Will humans never be able to inhabit those lands again? Of course not! They will clean it up and rebuild these lands. This is an opportunity for our Canadian military to train for the skills necessary to provide such a service and clean up its own backyard in the process.
We must remember that this land is on the traditional land of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation and we must involve them in the re-purposing of the land. Not only should affordable housing be made available, building a reconciliation centre will allow the ancestral knowledge to be passed on to all the peoples of Canada and make true reconciliation a reality.
The future usage of tanks is quickly becoming an ineffective tool in defending our country and will soon become obsolete. The future is in drones … hopefully, not for military purposes … but for building of a better country. Drones could be used for fighting fires, delivering food and medicines to remote regions, and many other uses. Why not repurpose the base as a drone training facility?
Furthermore, the federal government plans to give a portion of the land to TCE to build a pump storage facility. Many residents of this and surrounding areas have been heatedly protesting this proposal. Is it possible for TCE to provide a less controversial solution to provide the necessary electrical energy and other infrastructure requirements for this new community and beyond.
I would hope that the Canadian federal government (DND), residents of the town of Meaford, TCE, and the Indigenous community get together to redefine the use of this land. I am hoping this land could contain a reconciliation centre, additional housing, and a new defence (military) usage, but in reality, it is for them to work together and come up with the plan and design. If this is done well, it could become a prototype model for future Canadian community living and help solve many of the problems we have today.
Let’s all get involved and put on our ‘thinking caps’ and contribute to the plan. Let us repurpose the lands currently occupied by 4th Canadian Division Training Centre and hopefully create a much better world.
Sincerely,
Anton Komar, Meaford
