Could Ontario’s cottage country be home to a new armoured tank test site?

If you are looking for peace, quiet, nature and the possibility of military test explosions, Ontario's picturesque Benoir Lake could be for you.

Armatec Survivability, an Ontario-based company that designs armour upgrades for military tanks, is looking to set a test site near Haliburton, Ont. If their proposal is approve, it would be home to a tank-armour testing range and an armoured vehicle mobility course just 500 metres from the closest cottage. But don't worry, the whole thing would probably help the region's hotel industry.

Armatec Survivability provides "the Canadian Forces and allied militaries" with engineering upgrades for armoured vehicles. A company statement says they are focussed on improving "crew protection and vehicle survivability," rather than improving and advancing weapon technology.

Still, it takes some fireworks to test those defences. And some prospective neighbours are justifiably antsy about those gunfire and explosions going off in their backyard.

Aside from the image of military tanks driving around and bombs going off in the middle of Ontario cottage country, the major concern would be local safety, both from the equipment being tested and from military groups that could target such a test site.

A website dedicated to the program says fences, signs and education will be used to stop children from trespassing on the property. As for the idea of the site becoming a military target, the company says: "We do not consider this to be likely, as there has never been a known instance of this occurring at any testing facility in North America."

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Benoir Lake is located just south of Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park in the province's pristine Kawartha Lakes cottage country.

The project would see a military-like test site spread across a 2,300-acre plot of land, where explosions would be used to test the armour of tanks and other military vehicles, and those same vehicles would cut through the brush during frequent mobility tests.

The company knows it is up against negative public perception, with a spokesperson telling the Toronto Star they would work to "ease or eliminate the worries of local residents." Part of that strategy is an excessively detailed Frequently Asked Questions page on their website, which explains exactly what is expected to happen on the site.

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Here are a few key notes from that page:

• 30 survivability tests (involving explosions) will be conducted over the course of a year, broken into six week-long phases involving five tests each. Mobility tests, in which the tanks are driven, may be held at any time.

• The explosive testing site will be located more than 1.6 kilometres from the nearest residence. Bylaws require the mobility testing site to be at least 500 metres from the closest cottage.

• The survivability tests produce a sound comparable to that of a hunting rifle.

• The blast shock waves will not be strong enough to damage building foundations.

• None of the explosives used at the site will be radioactive, and the equipment will create no hazardous runoff. Soil tests will be done conducted frequently.

• The explosives will be transported to the site in secure vehicles.

The company says the "explosive charges" used in its tests are small in comparison to the sound emanating from a nearby lumber mill. It further suggests that the industry will support local businesses, such as hotels, caterers and gas stations.

If that doesn't put peace-seeking cottage goers at rest, it's not sure what will.

A public meeting is scheduled for this Saturday, during which Armatec will provide more information to local residents. Maybe while they’re at it, they can figure out how to get rid of that pesky lumber mill.