Martin Whyte addresses Drummond/North Elmsley council in 2022. Grant Deme photo
Martin Whyte is no longer pursuing a commercial gun range in Drummond/North Elmsley.
After the Ontario Land Tribunal ruled against him last summer, Whyte sought a different ruling through the Ontario Superior Court, but withdrew from proceedings in February of this year.
In an interview with 88.1 myFM, Whyte felt what was misconstrued in the public and media was his overarching goal for the range.
Whyte sponsors a group of local veterans who gather and shoot together, and said this would’ve become their go-to location.
The big debate over his application began in late 2022 when he submitted a re-zoning application to convert the range, which sits next to Millar Brooke Farm at 1688 Rideau Ferry Road, for commercial use.
The existing by-law does not permit a shooting range or gun club at the property.
His pursuit drew the ire of the public, with hundreds of residents coming out in droves speaking against having a range there, including family and employees of the Millar’s.
What’s happened since
Whyte’s legal strategy involved claiming the site had grandfather status, which if proven, would’ve permitted him to operate the range as he saw fit.
He told myFM his decision to withdraw from the Ontario Superior Court proceedings came after a member of the public filed a sworn affidavit, claiming they lived on the property in the 1980s, and it was never used as a gun range until the OPP started using it for target practice in the 1990s.
The OPP are exempt from adhering to local by-laws as they’re considered a public service, meaning their use of the range several years later than the time period in question from a legal standpoint is redundant.
The affidavit was a huge blow to Whyte’s argument. He still believes the range was in use in the 1980s, but this claim essentially made the case a “he said, she said,” and coupled with the public backlash, Whyte decided it wasn’t worth the time or money to continue his pursuit.
Whyte said the affidavit came forth “two to three weeks,” after a court imposed deadline for both parties to submit their arguments.
Township comments
Requests by myFM to address the claim from Whyte about when the affidavit was filed, among other remarks he made throughout the course of his interview, were not directly answered by Drummond/North Elmsley representatives.
Reeve Steve Fournier did however respond with a prepared statement.
“[After the Ontario Land Tribunal ruling] Mr. Whyte subsequently initiated a Superior Court application in December 2023, seeking a Court Order exempting the property from the Township’s zoning by-law and to permit a gun range on the property. Mr. Whyte abandoned the application in February 2025, prior to adjudication by the Court,” it read.
Even so, Whyte is within his legal right to keep the range private, and felt the Township did itself a disservice by contesting his application.
Whyte stressed throughout the interview he will maintain a safe environment for users, as he always has. Users can continue to handle long guns, but hand guns remain restricted.
In the same statement, Fournier confirmed Drummond/North Elmsley is now pursuing litigation against Whyte to recover the undisclosed tax dollars spent on the matter, so court proceedings continue.
“The Township is seeking its costs incurred in respect of this abandoned application.”
Story by Grant Deme