REGINA – A Corning, Sask. farmer arrested last month for disobeying a court order to vacate his land is expected to plead guilty when he reappears in court next month.
Gerald Pander, 42, has been fighting the provincial government over his delinquent land bank lease for more than 10 years. In 1988 he was ordered to vacate, but a farmgate defence by the National Farmers Union helped keep him on his land until his April arrest and eviction.
Pander was also charged with possessing a firearm dangerous to the public peace.
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He appeared in Indian Head provincial court last week. His case was adjourned to June 14.
“We expect to resolve this matter short of a trial,” said Pander’s lawyer Bob Hrycan.
Hrycan said Pander has found work on a farm in southern Saskatchewan and his family has relocated.
“He’s in his element,” Hrycan said. “He’s seeding, driving the tractor, fixing equipment. For someone like him this is probably the best that you can hope for.”
When the family was evicted, one of the court conditions was that Pander not be allowed to return to the farm. An agreement has been reached with the lands branch allows Pander to return over a period of three months to remove possessions.
“None of this takes away from the fact that he’s lost his farm,” Hrycan said.
