Ontario PC caucus member opposed to government’s landfill plan in Dresden

Steve Pinsonneault. (CTV News file image)

A southwestern Ontario member of Premier Doug Ford's caucus is speaking out against his government's decision to cancel an environmental assessment for a landfill expansion in his riding.

Steve Pinsonneault, who was elected last year in a byelection in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, promised during that campaign to work to get an environmental assessment for the site and the government ordered one last year, but now it is backtracking.

An omnibus bill before the legislature that would also give cabinet the power to suspend laws for certain projects by creating "special economic zones" and change endangered species rules in a way critics say guts protections would also revoke the requirement for an environmental assessment for the Dresden, Ont., landfill proposal.

Pinsonneault posted a video to Facebook saying he is opposed to that move.

"I've had thousands of emails, hundreds of phone calls, and several people in person come to talk to me about the York1 landfill in Dresden," he said.

"People are angry, and quite frankly, so am I."

The premier's office and environment minister say it's necessary to move the project forward quickly to ensure the long-term stability of a waste system that is nearing its capacity. Ford has said Ontario sends about 40 per cent of its waste to the United States and President Donald Trump could turn it away if trade disputes were to escalate.

The proposed 30-fold expansion of a dormant landfill north of the rural farming community of Dresden in Chatham-Kent has spawned local backlash and concerns about possible ecological effects.

Locals fear any leaching from the landfill could be disastrous for the area waterways and endangered species. The property is also surrounded by prime agricultural land and the water around the site streams into the Sydenham River, home to some endangered species, including the spiny softshell turtle.

Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff said there are other ways to expand landfill capacity in the province and the government should consider some of them instead of clearing environmental hurdles for a large dump to proceed just a 10-minute walk from downtown Dresden.

"People would not want to live there, and so you're basically signing a death certificate for Dresden by putting that dump there," he said in an interview.

"It's a very vibrant community and to put that there, you might as well just put up the closed for business sign."

Other communities around the province should be backing the local opposition to the landfill expansion, Canniff said, because the government could look to bypass environmental processes elsewhere.

"What's next?" he said. "This sets a tone to say, 'You know what? It's OK to bypass the process and just let industry do what they want to do.' We won't be the first and last."

Walpole Island First Nation, which is just downstream of the project, has called for a moratorium on the proposed expansion.

"This proposal threatens critical ecosystems, First Nation sovereignty, public health and safety, and reinforces an increasingly visible pattern of environmental racism, injustice, and constitutional neglect," the First Nation wrote in a letter earlier this month.

Pinsonneault said in the video that he has spoken to Ford and cabinet ministers about residents' concerns and his own concerns, but he is only one of 80 people within the PC caucus and however he votes on the bill won't change the outcome.

"As you can understand, I'm very frustrated," he said.

"I do believe that the residents of Dresden need to know where their representative stands on this matter. I do not support this landfill. I personally spoke to the premier. I personally spoke to the ministers. I've told them of the concerns of this landfill, and I told them how I'm opposed to it."

The Liberals have asked the integrity commissioner to look into whether the government gave the project preferential treatment because it's backed by lucrative Progressive Conservative donors.

Ford has said he doesn't know the developer and didn't look at who owned the project. Pinsonneault also said in the video he has never heard of or met the landfill owners and doesn't control who donates to his campaigns.

"I've been beat up pretty bad here on social media in the last three weeks, and due to my silence, I guess that's fair, but when my integrity comes into question, I feel it's time to speak out," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2025.

Allison Jones and Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press