From "Farm and Country" - November 18, 1997
www.agpub.on.ca/text/nov97/ne-po.htm
Another chapter was added recently to the well-publicized controversy surrounding
a Ridgetown-area pig farm and its neighbours.
The Ontario environment ministry recently laid two charges under the Ontario Water Resources Act against Michael Bernard DeBrouwer and Great Lakes Pig Company Ltd., Howard township, in connection with an alleged pig manure spill said to have occurred May 27, 1997. Neither investigator Russell Fosburg, who swore the information, nor Alice Uher, a Great Lakes owner, would elaborate on the incident because it is before the courts.
Uher describes the charges as "unfortunate. Obviously, we're pleading not guilty. I'm sure that the truth will come out."
Ridgetown lawyer Douglas Desmond, a Great Lakes neighbour and spokesperson for area residents opposed to Great Lakes, terms it "unfortunate" that these kinds of matters are usually heard before a Justice of the Peace "who don't know any law at all." Desmond relates he will be more interested in the effect the charges have on Great Lakes' application for a building permit to expand their operation than on any legal penalty awarded.
In the past, neighbours have filed a variety of complaints about Great Lakes and its owners. This is believed to be the first time charges have resulted.
First appearance in Chatham provincial court is scheduled for Nov. 24, 1997, when
defendants will have an opportunity to enter a plea.