By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Walpole Island First Nation Bkejwanong Territory officials are asking the federal government to step in to stop the York1/Whitestone Fields dump expansion north of Dresden.
On behalf of the band and nearby communities, Chief Leela Peters has sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney calling for an “immediate moratorium” on the York1/Whitestone Fields project.
Dated May 9, the five-page letter states the 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 letter outlines various threats posed by the expansion, including the potential to pollute the water that 30 million users on Great Lakes depend on; the threat to 88 species at risk in the Sydenham River, as well as the disrespect for the “cultural sacredness” of both First Nation tradition and Black history.
Many other groups are officially opposing the proposed landfill. Amnesty International Canada is asking the province to withdraw Bill 5 and is joined by Environmental Defence Canada, Ontario Nature, NatureCK, Ecojustice Canada, the Canadian Environmental Law Association; the Southwestern Ontario Council of Chiefs; the Lambton Kent District School Board, and unions, including SEIU, CUPE and Unifor.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent, Dawn-Euphemia Township and Lambton County are also against the dump expansion, with Chatham-Kent taking an active role in the fight.
Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles and Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie are also on record opposing the dump.
Independent Haldimand Norfolk MPP Bobbi Lynn Brady and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, who have spoken out against the dump, have also introduced a private member’s bill to protect Ontario farmland and the agri-business industry.
