Ontario’s NDP promising to put pressure on Ford government to repeal Bill 5

The Independent

NDP Leader says Dresden is the canary in the coalmine – a warning to other Ontario communities about what will happen because of Bill 5.

Marit Stiles was in Dresden July 3 for a rally against the Dresden Dump. The province introduced and passed Bill 5, the Unleashing the Economy Act in the spring sitting of the Ontario Legislature. In it, the Conservative government reneges on a promise to require York1 Environmental to complete a full Environmental Assessment of its project at the former Dresden dump.

Today, the company says a small crew is at work doing grounds clean‑up, grading, removing legacy debris and installation of basic environmental controls. It plans to use the site this year, under the same Environmental Compliance Approvals rules the former owner had.

But the company also is moving ahead with its regenerative recycling project which could bring as many as 700 trucks of construction and soil waste to the old dump tucked between houses on Irish School Road.

Stiles told the crowd of about 150 people, the rest of the province should take note of what’s going on in Dresden.

Stiles says over the summer the NDP is going to work to put pressure on the Ford Government to repeal Bill 5.

Meantime, Chatham-Kent Councillor Rhonda Jubenville told the crowd municipal bylaw enforcement officers have been visiting the property since York1 moved equipment and a small building onto the site. Officers are doing periodic checks to make sure they’re following local bylaws and not doing more than then current license on the property allows.

York1 officials say they’ll be applying to expand how much material and what kind of items they can bring onto the site later this year. For the time being, officials said, they’ll continue to use the property as the former owner did.