A group of concerned citizens and a local First Nation are calling on the Ford government to keep its promise.
Dresden Citizens Against Reckless Environmental Disposal (C.A.R.E.D.) and Walpole Island First Nation (WIFN) want the provincial government to keep a full environmental assessment (EA) for the Dresden landfill and to revoke the dormant dump's licence.
Calling the potential EA removal a betrayal, C.A.R.E.D.spokesman Stefan Premdas told a news conference at Queen's Park on Tuesday that there's a risk of a gas explosion like the one in Wheatley in 2021 because of geological instability and naturally occurring gas under the landfill.
"The ministry has already warned that the ground cover would prevent our aquifer from recharging and could potentially, based on current geology, trigger a collapse, a collapse that would ignite the already explosive gases under our town," Premdas said.
WIFN Chief Leela Thomas said the proposed landfill reactivation doesn't have their consent, there was no consultation about it with First Nations, and it violates their constitution.
They noted if the landfill was to begin operations again, it would pollute nearby water and farmland, and put endangered species, other wildlife, and wetlands at risk.
Thomas said the landfill is near homes, businesses, schools, and farms, was never zoned as a landfill, and is just wrong for the area.
"In Dresden's case, the site was never properly zoned for waste disposal. The previous owners were fined for environmental violations, including leachate contamination, and operated illegally as a waste site and even as a gun and bombing range," said Chief Thomas.
Premdas said 700 trucks a day would drive by two landfills with lots of capacity that are currently owned by York1 Waste Solutions on their way to dump in Dresden.
Last week, an Ontario Liberal MPP asked Ontario's Integrity Commissioner to investigate Premier Doug Ford and three ministers over their proposed reversal of an EA promised for the dormant Dresden landfill, citing connections between the premier, ministers, and developers regarding the Dresden landfill revival.
Ted Hsu, MPP for Kingston and the Islands, wrote the Integrity Commissioner on Friday suggesting the premier and the ministers may have contravened the Members' Integrity Act, alleging Ford attended Progressive Conservative Party fundraisers closely aligned with key regulatory decisions on the landfill and is directly connected to donors with a financial stake in the project.
MPP Hsu wants the Integrity Commissioner to look into whether Premier Ford and the ministers used their office to further the private interests of political donors and if they provided preferential treatment or access to individuals or entities based on political fundraising.
Premier Ford told reporters he doesn't know the landfill owners, but Premdas doesn't believe him.
The province said in April 2025 that it needs additional waste capacity in Ontario due to the threat of U.S. tariffs impacting Ontario’s waste sector, even though Premier Ford told a news conference in Windsor in March 2024 that he believed in the people and if they don’t want something like the Dresden dump, then the province won’t do it.