The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is clearing the record regarding alleged inaccuracies by the landfill proponent in Dresden.
It has also submitted additional information to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) as part of its ongoing request for a federal review of the proposed Dresden Waste and Recycling Facility.
In its submission, Chatham-Kent corrected York1's materials submitted to the IAAC, saying that Chatham-Kent does not support the proposal and that Council formally opposed the project in February 2024 and continues to do so.
The municipality also took the opportunity to note that no meaningful consultation has taken place between York1 and the municipality, adding that York1 has not even contacted the municipality since submitting its proposal to the province.
The municipality is also disputing that several Indigenous communities, including Walpole Island First Nation and the Delaware Nation Council (Moravian of the Thames), have not raised concerns, adding they have publicly expressed concerns about the project’s potential impacts.
The municipality said the IAAC recently asked it for more details about how Ontario’s planning process would review potential environmental and Indigenous impacts of the project.
Chatham-Kent’s external legal counsel explained that the project would require several municipal planning approvals under Ontario’s Planning Act, including changes to zoning and the Official Plan.
The municipality also emphasized that these provincial processes do not provide a full or adequate review of potential impacts on the environment or Indigenous rights, and continues to support a federal Impact Assessment under the Impact Assessment Act.
“Our residents and impacted Indigenous nations have raised serious concerns about the potential environmental and community impacts of this proposal,” said Mayor Darrin Canniff. “We believe the federal review process is the right step to ensure those concerns are properly addressed and that the community has a transparent and fair say in this matter. Our role is to make sure the facts are clear and that the community’s interests are protected.”
The municipality has asked the federal government to designate the proposed facility for review under section 9(1) of the Impact Assessment Act, which would ensure that potential environmental and Indigenous impacts are carefully and independently assessed.
