The Integrity Commissioner of Ontario has decided not to investigate the removal of a promised environmental assessment for the Dresden landfill and the alleged ties between the Ford government and the Dresden landfill owner.
The commissioner said there was insufficient evidence to investigate the matter.
"There is no evidence of any relationship between the members and the owners of the Dresden Landfill. There is no evidence of any of them acting for an improper purpose, but instead an objective basis for the decision, reducing reliance on the United States. There is no evidence about the process used for the decision or to demonstrate it was improper," wrote Ontario Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell in her report.
Liberal MPP for Kingston and the Islands Ted Hsu, who is also the Critic for Rural and Agriculture, Energy, Mining and Forestry, and Natural Resources, requested the investigation in May.
Hsu told CK News Today he's disappointed with the decision, but it doesn't mean the fight is over, promising he'll keep pressuring Premier Doug Ford.
"The owner of the landfill is going to have to update their Environmental Compliance Approval, that's the thing that replaces the Environmental Assessment. We'll look at that very closely, and when the legislature comes back, we'll have the opportunity to question the government again," he said.
Hsu noted that several questions remain about why the Dresden landfill reactivation and expansion was the only one mentioned in Bill 5, The Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, given the pressing need for more landfill capacity in the province.
"The Environment Minister said the civil service told us we had to do this to have more landfill capacity, and the NDP did a Freedom of Information request that turned up nothing, which meant there's no document where the civil service is telling the minister you have to expand this landfill," the MPP noted.
Hsu said he'll be keeping a very close eye on government lobbying and political donations moving forward because the Integrity Commissioner decision will certainly open up things.
"It's really going to open things up for lobbying because the government just gave itself a whole bunch of extra discretionary, executive power," he added.
Hsu noted the commissioner's decision leaves unaddressed the "critical issue" of how we should ensure public trust and environmental protection going forward.
He also believes the Dresden landfill expansion issue is a precedent-setting case that could affect the future of communities across Ontario.
Hsu will be in Dresden on Friday night for a meet and greet at the Old Czech Hall at 116 St. John Street in Dresden.