Walpole Island First Nation is calling on the federal government to halt the proposed landfill in Dresden, citing environmental threats and violations of Indigenous rights.
Walpole Island officials say the proposed Dresden landfill — backed by York1 and Whitestone Fields — poses “unacceptable risks” to local ecosystems, public health, and constitutional protections.
The project site borders Molly’s Creek and the Sydenham River, a federally designated fish spawning habitat and home to more than 88 species listed under the Species at Risk Act. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has also identified the East Branch of the Sydenham River as a globally significant Key Biodiversity Area.
Community leaders say contamination from the landfill could have far-reaching effects, including pollution of the Great Lakes — a drinking water source for nearly 30-million people.
“This project violates our inherent and constitutional rights,” a Walpole Island First Nation spokesperson said in a statement. “It exemplifies environmental racism, undermines First Nations sovereignty, and threatens ecosystems we’ve protected for generations.”
Walpole Island officials say the land is unceded Anishinaabeg territory, traditionally stewarded by the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi peoples of the Three Fires Confederacy. The area also includes sacred burial sites, historic Black settlements and migratory bird routes important to both Indigenous and Black Canadian communities.
Walpole officials say the site itself is a former bomb disposal area containing unexploded ordnance, buried industrial waste, and fly ash. It lies above the Kettle Point aquifer and overlaps with wetlands and floodplain zones — areas where landfilling is prohibited under the Ontario Landfill Act.
It is also within 800 metres of homes and farms, violating existing buffer zone rules, and was originally the subject of a proposal to discharge waste into Molly’s Creek before the current landfill permit application was submitted.
Walpole Island First Nation says no consultation or consent was obtained from affected Indigenous communities, in contravention of Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and Supreme Court rulings such as Haida Nation v. British Columbia.
Walpole officials are also raising alarms over Ontario’s Bill 5, which exempts certain developments from environmental and archaeological assessments. The law, critics say, enables projects like the Dresden landfill to move forward without proper oversight or input from Indigenous nations.
In a formal call to action, Walpole Island First Nation is urging both the federal and Ontario governments to:
– Impose a moratorium on the Dresden landfill project;
– Uphold constitutional and UNDRIP protections;
– Launch a federal environmental assessment, including a fisheries impact review for the Sydenham River;
– Reject Ontario Bill 5 and restore full environmental protections.
“We are not just stakeholders. We are rights holders, defenders and guardians of these lands and waters. We call on Canada to lead with humility, justice and the courage to do what is right,” Walpole officials added.
Representatives from Walpole Island and the community of Dresden attended Queen’s Park on Tuesday to protest the proposed dump.
The public comment period from the Province is open until May 17, 2025.
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