The provincial government’s…

The provincial government’s proposed Bill 5 is putting Southwestern Ontario at risk by sidestepping environmental safeguards. Ford argues that the Bill will strengthen our economy and help combat Trump’s tariffs. However, the consequences of removing environmental assessment and public consultation amongst other accountability measures as part of this Bill, will be devastating.

Revoking an already approved environmental assessment so that York 1 Ltd. could build a large landfill less than 1 km from the historic town of Dresden is outright deplorable. The government fails to understand that this town is located on the Sydenham River and is surrounded by prime agricultural land. Dresden is also known for its cultural significance that includes a stop at the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History on the Underground Railroad.

The potential harm to the Sydenham River species-rich watershed would push some of Ontario’s rarest aquatic life closer to extinction. The nearby river’s eastern branch, which flows further down into Wallaceburg and the First Nations of Walpole Island, is its most biodiverse area. Further impact would be felt downstream as water flows to Lake St. Clair onward to Lake Erie.

In addition to contamination of waterways, the rich agricultural area surrounding this proposed project is also at risk. Growing up on a family farm outside of Dresden, I know first-hand how intensive agriculture is in the area and how high quality the soil is. Farmers producing vegetables, cash crops, and raising livestock face several consequences beyond the contamination of water and soil. The combination of farm equipment travelling county roads and transport trucks carrying garbage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is a recipe for disaster. It is estimated that 700 trucks carrying waste will be travelling to the proposed landfill site each day. Road safety is already a concern especially during planting and harvesting seasons. The added noise, pollution, and traffic to an already stressed infrastructure is extremely worrisome.

Lack of consideration for the safety of our children is egregious. Two schools are within 3 km of the planned landfill site at 29831 Irish School Road. Trucks exiting off Highway 401 need to drive 31 km through the region of Chatham-Kent to reach the proposed landfill site. Garbage trucks on school bus routes could be disastrous.

The government needs to stop lying about this site being a legitimate landfill. A comprehensive environmental assessment has never been conducted on or near the 2 acres where incinerator ash was buried. Like the Greenbelt scandal, backroom deals and preferential treatment to developers is spreading southwest of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The community and its residents do not want the same things that transpired with the Greenbelt scandal and resulted in violation of provincial rules, happening here.

This is the wrong location for a project of this magnitude. Why not explore other sites away from prime agricultural land to dispose waste from the GTA, the main source of the trash? Why not investigate other methods to process waste or incentives for producing less waste? These seem like foundational questions to begin with, before removing Environmental standards.

Just because Bill 5 has a mandate to ‘Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy’ does not mean our environment has to be sacrificed at the expense of a stronger economy. We can build a stronger economy and maintain environmental standards at the same time with or without tariffs.
We implore the Ontario government to listen and to keep in place the Environmental Assessment for York 1. The survival of our small town of Dresden, our people, our farms, and the sensitive natural environment surrounding it depend upon it.