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After more than 40 years operating north of Penticton, B.C., the Penticton Shooting Club is packing up as it tries to understand why the federal government is forcing it off the land it has long called home.
The club is being evicted from property owned by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
“We don’t understand why this is being done,” said Gary Logan vice-president of the Penticton Shooting Sports Association. “No one has come out. ‘We want this property because of X,’ nothing. So it’s very frustrating.”
Adding to the frustration is the government’s latest move — a lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court claiming the club is now unlawfully occupying the site.
“The Association has failed and refused to deliver vacant possession of the Lands,” the court filing states. “At the time of filing this petition, the Association remains wrongfully in possession of the Lands.”
“Total surprise because as far as we’re concerned, we’re in the process of dismantling,” Logan said.
The federal government is terminating the lease agreement as part of a plan to divest the land and carry out environmental remediation work.
Community leaders and local organizations have voiced support for the club, including the RCMP, which has used the range for officer training.
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Kelowna MP and Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr has also been in support of the club.
Fuhr wrote a letter to fellow minister Heath MacDonald, minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, in September, stating, “I very respectfully lend my support to their request for a renewed long-term lease and trust that their perspective will be given thoughtful consideration.”
Fuhr was unavailable for comment Thursday on the latest development of legal action launched by his own government.
The club said more than 10,000 people signed a petition last year, urging Ottawa to reconsider the eviction.
“We are supported by the community,” Logan said. “We had over 10,000 signatures in a petition that was sent to Ottawa to try to turn this situation around.”
The association also argues the federal government has repeatedly changed the timeline for vacating the property.
The club says it was initially told to leave by the end of December.
It added that after requesting more time, the government extended the deadline to September 2026.
According to the club, the government unexpectedly reversed course in April, ordering the club out by the end of that month.
“The latest was get out in April,” Logan said. “This is not a small thing. These are trucks that we got to bring in here to move the sea cans with all of our stuff in it…give us a break here. We had the time frame. You reduced the time frame.”
The federal petition says the government provided the association with notice as early as 2023 that the land would eventually be reclaimed.
For club members, however, the most difficult part remains the lack of clarity around the government’s long-term plans for the property.
“They won’t answer other than ‘we want to divest the property,’” Logan said.
The federal government did not provide comment before time of publication.
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