1. Violation of Community…

1. Violation of Community Participation Rights

The York1 landfill project has faced significant public opposition and concerns from local residents, municipal officials, and Indigenous groups. The removal of the EA requirement effectively denies local communities their legal right to participate in environmental decision-making, as guaranteed under the Environmental Bill of Rights. It also bypasses key stages for public consultation, alternative consideration, and cumulative impact analysis, which are vital for a project of this scale and proximity to sensitive ecosystems.

This move sets a dangerous precedent of legislative interference in site-specific approvals, potentially eroding the transparency, accountability, and democratic integrity of Ontario’s environmental governance.

2. Inconsistency with Sound Environmental Protection Practices

Environmental assessments are designed to:
• Evaluate a project’s full environmental impact before it proceeds.
• Explore alternatives and less harmful solutions.
• Establish robust mitigation strategies.
• Ensure meaningful public engagement.

By replacing this with a narrow Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) process—which is focused on technical compliance during operation—the government is substantially weakening environmental safeguards. ECAs do not include the broad-based assessment, alternatives analysis, or extensive consultation inherent to EAs, making them an inadequate substitute for comprehensive review of a landfill of this scale.

3. Risks to the Sydenham River Ecosystem

The Sydenham River watershed is one of the most biodiverse in Canada, home to over 80 fish species and 34 species of freshwater mussels, many of which are endangered or found nowhere else in the country.

The proposed York1 site lies dangerously close to Molly’s Creek, which drains directly into the East Sydenham River. This proximity raises the serious risk of leachate contamination—a toxic byproduct of landfill waste—polluting the creek and river. Leachate can contain heavy metals, PFAS chemicals, and pathogens, all of which can:
• Poison aquatic species,
• Trigger algal blooms and oxygen depletion,
• Cause irreversible damage to water quality and ecosystem health.

With the river already under stress from agriculture and invasive species, this added threat could push many at-risk species closer to extinction.

4. Deviation from Established Best Practices and Regulations

Comprehensive environmental assessments are the standard first step in Ontario’s landfill approval process, typically followed by the issuance of an ECA. Ontario Regulation 232/98 and Guideline D-4 are predicated on the assumption that a robust EA will inform the design, operation, and monitoring requirements of landfills.

By selectively removing the EA requirement for York1:
• The province is abandoning its own established regulatory process.
• It is weakening environmental oversight for this project alone, rather than streamlining approvals more broadly.
• It deviates from national and international best practices, where private-sector landfill developments still undergo rigorous environmental assessments.

Even the Auditor General of Ontario has previously criticized the province for exempting private-sector projects of significant environmental consequence from proper EA scrutiny.

5. Conclusion and Recommendation

I call for the Government of Ontario to maintain the mandatory Environmental Assessment requirement for the York1 waste disposal site under the EAA. The precautionary principle must apply: where there is risk of significant harm to human health or the environment, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used to justify proceeding without adequate review.

Removing the EA:
• Diminishes public trust and participation,
• Undermines environmental sustainability,
• Puts the Sydenham River's unique ecosystem at serious risk, and
• Signals a troubling willingness to prioritize expedience over long-term protection.

I request that the proposed exemption under Bill 5 be revised so that the York1 project is subject to a full and comprehensive environmental assessment. Doing so would reaffirm the government’s commitment to responsible governance, environmental stewardship, and respect for community and Indigenous rights.