MPP calls on integrity commissioner to probe Premier Ford and ministers over Dresden, Ont., landfill project

Ontario's integrity commissioner is being asked to investigate the alleged connection of Premier Doug Ford, two of his cabinet members, and a former minister to a proposed landfill in Dresden, Ont.

Liberal MPP for Kingston and the Islands Ted Hsu called for the investigation in a May 9 letter in which he claimed there's reasonable and probable grounds to believe that Ford and the trio may have contravened the Members' Integrity Act.

The complaint comes in wake of a report in The Trillium that found the owners of the landfill property, and others connected to them, made significant donations to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.

In addition to Ford, Hsu said former minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks Andrea Khanjin, current minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks Todd McCarthy, and Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce "may have contravened the Act or breached parliamentary convention" in relation to decisions surrounding the Dresden landfill site.

"These ministers are named in this request because Premier Doug Ford attended PC Party fundraisers closely aligned with key regulatory decisions on the landfill and is directly connected to donors with a financial stake in the project," Hsu wrote in the letter.

"Andrea Khanjin, as then Minister of Environment, announced the comprehensive environmental assessment (EA) that appeared to stall the project just prior to a byelection. Todd McCarthy, her successor, is now leading the government's effort to cancel the EA through legislation, a reversal that would benefit the landfill's owners.

"Stephen Lecce, as minister of energy and mines, formally introduced Bill 5, which includes a provision exempting the Dresden landfill from the EA process despite significant local opposition and no comparable exemptions for other landfills," reads the letter.

According to Hsu, each of the ministers named in the letter "played a role in a sequence of events that appears to favour a politically connected group of developers and major Progressive Conservative Party donors. The circumstances raise serious concerns about whether political donations, lobbying relationships, and insider connections may have unduly influenced the exercise of public authority."

Hsu said the basis for his request relates to a sequence of events in 2024–2025 involving:

• "Substantial political donations" from developers and executives with a direct financial stake in the Dresden landfill. 

• The premier's participation in political fundraisers held shortly after an environmental assessment was announced for the site. 

• The subsequent introduction of legislation (Bill 5) that would cancel that assessment and benefit those same donors.

Project will still undergo extensive environmental processes: premier's office

A spokesperson for the premier said the Dresden landfill is needed to reduce reliance on international systems for waste disposal.

"Ontario exports nearly 40 per cent of its waste to the United States and it is anticipated our landfills, as they stand, will be full within the next decade," Hannah Jensen wrote in an email to CBC News.

"The [Dresden] waste project ... is the landfill that can mobilize the quickest to increase internal waste management capacity to ensure long-term stability and reduce reliance on international systems, as it already has waste permissions and is not considered a new landfill.

"We have been clear, the project will still undergo extensive environmental processes and remain subject to strong provincial oversight and other regulatory requirements, including Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECA) under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) and the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA)."

The premier's office did not respond to the allegations made in Hsu's letter. CBC News has also reached out to the offices of McCarthy and Lecce for comment.

The integrity commission has confirmed receipt of Hsu's letter, which it says is under review.

Government steamrolling Dresden residents, Ontario Liberals say

Meanwhile, Ontario Liberal MPPs on Monday echoed calls for an investigation into the cancellation of the environmental assessment. 

The party accused the Ford government of breaking a promise to Dresden residents by reneging on its commitment for a full environmental assessment of the landfill proposal.

The Liberal party said donations to the PCs since 2018 from those connected with the property are pegged at around $200,000, a figure contained in the Trillium report.

"When developers who donate $200,000 to the premier's party get exemptions from environmental review, something is deeply broken in how this government is doing business," said Ontario Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie, in a news release. 

CBC News has not independently verified the donation figures.

"Real integrity means standing by your word, not burying broken promises in legislation to protect political friends. Doug Ford made a promise to win votes during a byelection in Lambton—Kent—Middlesex. He then broke that promise the moment it became politically convenient. He doesn't care to listen to rural voices, unless it benefits him."