Steve Pinsonneault, we have a suggestion for you: stand up for your constituents very publicly and very vocally.
As MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, the proposed provincial Bill 5 – Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act – should give you indigestion, just as it has for the rest of us.
The thought of this bill removing a requirement for an environmental assessment on the proposed landfill site just north of Dresden should be unpalatable for you.
It could pave the way for hundreds of trucks a day hauling trash to dump at a site all too close to feeder tributaries to the ecologically significant Sydenham River, something that is not wanted here.
Now is the time to oppose the bill and to stand with the people of Dresden and area.
Whether you do this while staying as a sitting Conservative, or cross the floor to sit as an independent in the Legislature, your riding needs you to send a strong message to Premier Doug Ford.
Do this, and you’ll enhance your chances of being re-elected next time around.
Then again, if the riding boundaries change to match the federal boundaries, perhaps you’ve already lost your seat.
Still, we urge you to support your constituents.
No one wants the landfill. The municipality – as host – is against it. The citizens are against it. Local First Nation communities oppose it. Nearby Lambton County hates the idea.
Yet here we stand.
Mr. Pinsonneault, your boss, Ford, has put you between the proverbial rock and a hard place, with a dagger slipped in between your ribs added for good measure.
Straddling the issue is not an option. It’s too polarizing.
If you support the bill, your constituents will end your provincial political career in four years.
If you stand up against it, refusing to walk the party line, you remind your constituents why they voted for you in the first place. They chose you in no small part due to your backing of the people of East Kent and beyond on your time as councillor.
