By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Dresden C.A.R.E.D. protestors waited for Premier Doug Ford outside the Wallaceburg hospital May 1 to make their opposition to the Dresden landfill expansion known.
The wait was for nothing.
Ford, scheduled to make a morning appearance at a Chatham-Kent Health Alliance funding announcement, was unable to make the trip due to foggy conditions in Toronto.
It didn’t endear him to members of the grassroots organization founded to stop York1 Waste Solutions’ plan to revive a dormant landfill north of town that would accept 6,000 tonnes of construction waste per day. The GTA-based company also wants to build a regenerative recycling facility and a leachate pond system close to a creek that feeds into the Sydenham River watershed.
Around 30 people showed up on behalf of Dresden C.A.R.E.D. They lined the sidewalk opposite the hospital, hoisting signs intended to convey their vehement disapproval of the York1 plan.
“Mr. Ford – come talk to us PLEASE!” read a sign on a pickup truck belonging to Dresden resident Joe Galos. Another said “Stand for Your Children’s Future” and many read “Save Our Sydenham” with “Our History, Our Home, Not a Dumping Zone” on the flip side.
Dresden C.A.R.E.D. chairman Stefan Premdas said the group wasn’t surprised Ford didn’t show up, and didn’t expect the premier would talk to them anyway.
“Judging on his previous press conferences where he showed up in ridings where they’ve expropriated land for highways like the 413, he didn’t answer questions,” Premdas explained. “We showed up today to show the premier, peacefully, that our community would not be ignored.”
According to Premdas, next steps for the grassroots non-profit include getting an NDP-sponsored parliamentary petition introduced in the Ontario Legislature.
“We’ve been working across the aisle with all the opposition parties getting a lot of support,” he added.
Dresden C.A.R.E.D. is also working with local First Nations groups to fight York1. According to Premdas, Bkejwanong Territory (Walpole Island First Nation) leaders have pledged their support, as have members of the Chippewa on the Thames.
