Ontario One Step Closer to Giving Municipalities Say Over Landfill Locations

WOODSTOCK – The Ontario Government’s bill giving municipalities a say in the future placement of landfill sites takes another step forward today by coming forward for second reading in the Legislature.

The proposed COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act will be debated Wednesday afternoon. This legislation, if passed, would provide municipalities more involvement in environmental assessments by requiring their support for new landfills to receive approval. This is part of a larger plan to modernize the environmental assessment process and fulfills a direct election commitment made in 2018.

“I am very pleased to see Bill 197 progress given how long the many hardworking volunteers in our community have been trying to raise and address this issue,” said Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman. “Our government has listened to the people of Oxford and the more than 140 municipalities that support the Demand the Right Coalition giving Ontario’s municipalities more autonomy over important local issues and today we are one step closer to fulfilling our election commitment.”

MPP Hardeman welcomes the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks Jeff Yurek to Oxford on Thursday, July 16, when they will join Demand the Right to celebrate the proposed Municipal Landfill Approval Rights portion of Bill 197. The event will take place in downtown Ingersoll at 9:30 a.m. at the gazebo in Heritage Park.

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Media inquiries please contact:

Ernie Hardeman, MPP Oxford

(519) 537-5222