Heather Wright/The Independent

Traumatizing. That’s what Thomas Peacock, one of the leaders of a community group fighting the revitalization of the Dresden dump, calls the Ford Government’s decision to allow York1 to redevelop the land without an Environmental Assessment.

Members of the Dresden community became aware of the move not from their local MPP or a news release, but by a posting on the Environmental Registry of Ontario outlining how the province will allow the Mississauga waste giant to restart and expand the 25 acre landfill and use the rest of the 85 acre property as a construction waste recycling facility without a deep look into what that might mean for the environment.

Peacock, of Dresden CARED, spent hours trying to contact government officials, including Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault, to talk about the move, without any luck.

“Mr. Pinsonneault should do his job and communicate with community, because the after-the-fact hearsay and the trails of little bit of information in a press release that we have to be on the edge of our seat looking for every day, (is)emotional terrorism against the community.

“Nobody’s been able to sleep since this announcement.”

Peacock called it “traumatizing” and likened it to something US President Donald Trump would do.
“It is unfair of them (the PC Government) to do this to their own Conservative riding,” he added noting Pinsonneault had just been re-elected two months ago.

Dresden CARED has been working with Environmental Defence. Late Tuesday, it issued a statement calling the move by the Ontario government “shameful backpedalling on its promise to protect the Sydenham River and surrounding communities.”

Rebecca Kolarich, Water program manager at Eco Defence says if the bill is passed, it could cause “devastating impacts to the Sydenham River’s most species-rich area…polluting sensitive water ways and making it easier than ever to destroy and displace Ontario species which is short-sighted and ultimately bad policy.

She added the move would push rare wildlife, like the spiny turtle, closer to the brink of extinction.

“By removing the environmental assessment requirements, Premier Ford is revealing his government’s ‘pave-it-over’ approach that prioritizes harmful infrastructure projects over environmental protection.
“Premier Ford is giving Ontarians the false impression that we must choose between the economy and the environment.

“But in reality, Ontario’s economy, health and sovereignty is directly linked to a thriving, healthy environment,” the group added.

For his part, Peacock is looking for some answers from both Pinsonneault and Chatham-Kent municipal officials.

“Our community is sick and tired of having to do the government’s job for them,” Peacock said.
“We educate ourselves and then, we listen to our government officials tell us they don’t know or they know less than we do. It is time for Pinsonneault to step up to the plate and host community meetings. Same thing for the municipality.

“Our community is sick and tired of having to raise funds to do these things and to lobby… it’s exhausting,” he added.

“We’re lobbying opposition because our own MPP refuses to talk to anybody, and all this is happening while our taxes are going up.”