The Government of Canada has gone to the courts to try and oust the Penticton Shooting Range from its current location.
The range, operated by the Penticton Shooting Sports Association (PSSA), leases the land from the Summerland Research Centre, which itself is part of Agriculture Canada.
Agriculture Canada, in 2022, did a review of its holdings and determined the parcel the range is located on, and the adjacent parcel to the north of it, were surplus to the research centre’s needs, with the announcement that they would be divested issued in 2023.
PSSA was given notice in 2024 on the timeline of divestment, with the lease for the land set to terminate at the end of 2025.
Since then, the association launched a major public effort to try and get the government to change its mind, getting the support of local organizations, 10 MPs across party lines, and almost 10,000 supporters who signed an official parliamentary petition.
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Those efforts have not swayed the federal government, which has proceeded with its goal of divesting the property, culminating in the petition to the courts filed in Penticton on May 1 by the Attorney General of Canada seeking to force the PSSA out.
The petition seeks court orders that find the PSSA has refused to give up possession of the range land despite the lease having been terminated and a writ of possession of the lands for the government.
According to the petition’s claims, the government had given the PSSA a formal one-month notice in December of 2025 that their month-to-month lease would expire at midnight on Jan. 31, 2026, with the PSSA required to give vacant possession of the lands by that point.
The government says the PSSA has refused to leave, and has further refused to sign the offered four-month lease offer for the purposes of coming in and clearing out the land, saying the organization is refusing based on the difficulty of moving and the substantial loss to the organization for the structures that can’t be moved.
No reply has yet been filed, and the claims have not been tested in court. No hearing date for the petition has been set yet.
The Penticton Western News reached out to the Penticton Shooting Sports Association but did not receive a response prior to publication. This story will be updated with their response, if one is received.
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