DUFFERIN COUNTY STAFF may have been misinterpreting, or disregarding, at least one section of its tree-cutting bylaw since its enactment five years ago.

We say “may” because there has always been some discretion in the enforcement of almost all laws, including some in the Criminal Code.

The county’s forestry manager has been letting farmers remove trees from woodlots for improvements to farming operations without applying for minor variance, irrespective of the size of the woodlot.

There appears to have been no concern about the practice until The Highland Companies began to clear-cut large swaths and its critics saw the process as a first step toward creating its proposed, 2,400-acre megaquarry.

We do not feel that forestry management has erred in applying discretion and interpretations based on previous practice for farming operations. The past cannot be altered.

Accordingly, we feel the county CAO and the chairman of the Museum Committee are correct in their decision to simply enforce the bylaw in accordance with the new interpretation.

It is time, simply, to move forward.