Heather Wright/The Independent

OPP officers from a special unit which deals with demonstrations, protests, rallies, vigils and labour disputes, called at least two people who have voiced opposition to a proposal for a Wanstead livestock truck washing facility telling them to “behave” at public meeting Sept. 3.

That from one person contacted prior to the meeting. 

Cornerstone has erected a building and prepared a parking area on Leyton Street in the hamlet. There are about six homes directly around the two lots and several more on Wanstead Road and further down the street. Owner Pat Belanger says they plan to bring between six and eight trucks per day to the shop for industrial cleaning. That sparked residents’ concerns about smells, rodents and water contamination.

The request to change zoning to allow the truck washing station came to council late in April 2024. Residents were on hand and prepared to voice their concerns. But before they could, the mayor announced Cornerstone wanted to consider the community’s objections and asked the council not to make a decision on the project at that time.

Outside that meeting, some of the crowd confronted Belanger. While there were some strong words, there was no threats or physical violence during the discussion when The Independent was present.

Fast-forward to 2025 and the company’s consultants had submitted more information and the County of Lambton, which handles Plympton-Wyoming’s planning issues, set the meeting dates of Sept. 3 for public input and Sept. 29, where council is expected to discuss the issue.

The week before the meeting was to take place, two people received calls from the OPP to counsel them on their behaviour at the upcoming meetings. 

Jesse Jessome has been a vocal opponant of the project by Cornerstone Group. She received a call Aug. 27. Const. Trevor Lam of the Provincial Liaison Team in the West Region told her there was a request for police to be on hand for the public and council meeting. Jessome says he asked if there had been an altercation in the past; she said no.

The officer, she said, then told her she had been identified as the leader of the community group and to “‘make sure that everyone is going to be on their best behavior… remind your neighbours to basically behave.’”

Jessome was surprised by the call and called it “borderline intimidation.”

The neighbours have been actively trying to stop the project. They printed postcards and distributed them to every home in Wyoming to tell them about Wednesday’s public meeting. 

Jessome has filed requests for information about the building, the county’s role in the approval process and researched the company and poured through every report filed. She’s even contacted the Ministry of the Environment asking them to investigate. But she says that’s her right as a citizen.

Jessome was concerned by the call and wondered who asked for the OPP to be involved. 

Cornerstone owner Pat Belanger was aware the OPP would be on hand but said he had not received a call from police about decorum during the meeting.

Adam Sobanski, Chief Administrative Officer for Plympton-Wyoming says the town asked for the OPP’s help. “Due to the controversial nature of the proposed zoning by-law amendment and the tensions within the community on the matter, we have asked OPP to be present,” he said in a email to The Independent. He didn’t directly answer if the town asked the OPP to call residents about their conduct. “It is my understanding that it is standard practice for OPP to contact potential parties involved in public meeting regarding contentious matters.”

“The presence of police or security personnel at planning meetings is not new in Lambton,” said Corrine Nauta, manager of building services for Lambton County. She said in the last year there were eight instances where the OPP was called in on planning matters. It wasn’t clear from her email if that was planning meetings only or other public meetings.

 The Independent contacted Brooke-Alvinston, Petrolia, Lambton Shores, Warwick, Enniskillen, Dawn-Euphemia and St. Clair Township and asked if they had asked if they had invited the OPP to attend potentially volatile public meetings. Only Warwick said yes. 

Mayor Todd Case said the police were on hand for one Committee of Adjustment meeting. 

“Decisions regarding security are made strictly on a case-by-case basis, depending on the subject matter under discussion. This approach applies to matters connected to planning, building, and by-law. While such measures are in place to ensure safety and order, they are not broadly communicated to the public and may not be apparent to attendees, either in person or virtually,” added Nauta.

“Depending on the circumstances, this has included paid duty officers, on-shift OPP officers, plain-clothes officers, and/or contracted security. Their involvement may be within chambers, in meeting rooms, or positioned outside the premises.”

Jessome says the warning won’t deter the neighbours from voicing their concerns. And she wants to know who decided the OPP should talk to her. 

That, she was told, will require a Freedom of Information request.