Local leaders and residents are clearly disappointed with the passage of Bill 5, a controversial bill that includes environmental exemptions for the resurrection of the dormant Dresden landfill.
Bill 5 was passed at Queen's Park on Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 71-44, but neither Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault nor Premier Doug Ford were present for the vote.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent said it has hired lawyers and consultants and will be vigorously fighting the proposed landfill on Irish School Road after the province reversed its promise for a full and comprehensive environmental assessment at the site.
The municipality noted the matter will be discussed at the council meeting on Monday to night to explore all available options to continue opposition to the proposed landfill.
"Council and staff remain committed to continue working with our partners, both locally and provincially, to defend Dresden," said the municipality in a statement late Thursday. "The subsequent introduction of Bill 5 also raised substantial concerns for Chatham-Kent, including its potential to override local governance, compromise environmental protections, and disregard meaningful consultation with Indigenous nations. It has been made clear that this bill does not reflect the values or the needs of Chatham-Kent and the community of Dresden."
Mayor Darrin Canniff said he's disappointed and urged the Government of Ontario to reconsider the implications of this legislation and to listen to the concerns of communities like CK.
"Respect the rights of all Ontarians, especially Indigenous communities, whose voices must not be ignored as stewards of the land,” the mayor said.
Ward 4 Councillor Rhonda Jubenville said she's disheartened and hoped there's a positive outcome.
“I am saddened that our elected MPPs didn't stand against the portion of Bill 5 that threatened Dresden. I am hopeful that they will still work with us to provide the best possible outcome in this unfortunate situation. What is most concerning to me is the removal of the Environmental Assessment, which would have provided all the safeguards to make sure this project would proceed in an environmentally sound direction. I worry for the people of Dresden and the surrounding area, along with the impact on the land and farms, tributaries and air, she said.
Ward 4 Councillor Jamie McGrail also shared her disappointment.
"This is a difficult moment, but also time to regroup,” she said. "I will be taking my direction through municipal administration, but make no mistake, I will continue to engage and fight alongside Dresden and the municipality as we move forward with the ECA process.”
Dresden Citizens Against Reckless Environmental Disposal (C.A.R.E.D.) told CK News Today it's a sad day for all of Ontario because Bill 5 breaches the treaties with First Nations people, guts environmental protection, and "turned democracy into a dictatorship."
Dresden C.A.R.E.D. spokesperson Stefan Premdas said the advocacy group will continue to work with the opposition parties at Queen's Park and community groups, including First Nations leadership throughout the province and Canada to repeal Bill 5.
Premdas said this fight is far from over, adding the matter will likely lead to legal action.
"To quote Sol, 'we will be fighting in the courts and on the land,'" said Premdas.
First Nations have threatened to block highways over Bill 5.
Haldiman-Norfolk Independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady, formerly of the Ontario PC Party, accused the premier of turning his back on Dresden and "railroading" democratic rights.
"This is about friends of the premier. If this was about expanding capacity to deal with our own garbage, the government would have included all 800-plus landfill sites in this legislation. I think it's smelly. The only thing that changed between the premier telling the people of Dresden he had their back and then turning his back on them was the ownership of that dump," said Brady
A spokesperson for York1 said the company is pleased and now that Bill 5 has passed as proposed, the Judicial Review filed in court in July 2024 "doesn't need to proceed."
A notice of application for York1's Judicial Review stated that the need for a comprehensive EA would “result in additional expense and time” which would render the project “unfeasible.”
York1 also noted it plans to build the construction and demolition materials recycling facility as soon as possible once environmental and regulatory requirements are approved.
"Our facility will be clean, and will improve upon what's there now, all while creating stable, good jobs for the local community," said Laryssa Waler. "We want to reassure residents again that our site will not be a dumping place for household garbage and waste. That was never the plan and continues not to be the plan, despite what some groups might be saying."
Waler noted the facility will use technology and world-class practices to turn sorted clean wood into mulch, compost, raw material for particleboard or paper manufacturing, and mixed wood waste into alternative low-carbon fuels.
The facility will also prepare rock and rubble for use in cement and concrete production, aggregate replacement in construction, base for sports fields or running tracks, or decorative use in landscaping, according to York1.
The province previously said it needs more landfill capacity in case the U.S. closes its border to Ontario's waste as the trade war continues.