A new spokesperson for the company that owns the Dresden landfill has strong ties to the Ontario PC Party.
Laryssa Waler, who is a communications and public affairs consultant in Toronto, told CK News Today she was hired by York1 Waste Solutions in Toronto last week to "help the local media and stakeholders understand better what is and isn't being proposed at the Dresden site."
Waler worked as the Executive Director of Communications for Premier Doug Ford from 2018-2020; was Press Secretary for the Leader of the Opposition in Ontario (Ontario PC Party) from 2009-2010; and was Press Secretary/Digital Economy Policy Advisor for former Ontario PC Party MPP Tony Clement from 2006-2009 while he was an MP.
Her firm lists multiple services, including crisis and reputation management.
The hiring took place shortly after a Liberal MPP asked the Integrity Commissioner to investigate Ford's connections to donors with a financial stake in the landfill after the province reversed a full environmental assessment promised for the project.
Waler is emphasizing that the Dresden site on Irish School Road would be a proposed recycling facility for construction and demolition debris only and there would be no household waste processed at the site.
"It's understandable that residents and local leaders would have concerns with any infrastructure construction in their local area," said Waler in a statement. "It is not a "new landfill"; this is however, an old landfill that had fallen into a bad state."
Waler noted the existing landfill already has an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) that allows businesses to operate their facility or site with environmental controls.
"The proposed changes to the site will actually help improve the environmental footprint of the site and bring it up to current standards, while creating many local good jobs and spin off economic activity," she added.
Spokesperson for Dresden Citizens Against Reckless Environmental Disposal (C.A.R.E.D.) Stefan Premdas called Waler's statement about how the proposed dump will improve the site's environmental footprint "wild", adding that her hiring "is a giant conflict".
"To me, this speaks to the nature of how they operate and how deeply they are working with the Ontario PC Party," Premdas said.
Waler dismissed the conflict saying she worked for the Government of Ontario over five years ago.
C.A.R.E.D. is trying to stop the dormant landfill revival along with the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and many residents citing adverse environmental impacts and a high volume of daily truck traffic.
Waler added that York1 is also willing to discuss with decision makers how the company can best support the community with its local needs.
York1 wants to revive an 8-hectare landfilling area and 0.8-hectare waste processing site within the 35-hectare property.