With the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex by-election just one week away, Warwick Township is calling on all candidates to prioritize concerns regarding access to natural gas and the proposed Twin Creeks Landfill expansion.
Mayor Todd Case said he hopes the elected Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) will push for a thorough Environmental Assessment (EA) regarding the proposed landfill expansion.
"When I say thorough, one that takes the time needed for our folks to be able to obviously express their opinions and go through the whole process without having it cut short," Case said. "So we're looking for each candidate to support that and make that pledge."
The municipality also wants to see a commitment to expand natural gas into rural municipalities.
The Access to Natural Gas Act was created in 2018 to enable expansion projects into rural areas but municipalities, like Warwick Township, are still waiting. Case and other municipal leaders voiced their displeasure during a meeting held in March.
"We're really just asking for the province to make sure that we get consideration for the next intake of funding that's available to municipalities because we really are under serviced," he said. "Warwick Village does not have natural gas and a large portion of our agricultural community doesn't have natural gas either. The province is pushing electrification but we also don't have the grid to support that so we're going to keep on trying to bring natural gas to our community."
Case has also been in regular contact with Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey, who offered his support to the township over the past six months.
Municipalities in the riding have been without representation at Queen's Park since Monte McNaughton stepped away from politics in September 2023 to join the private sector.
The province didn't call a by-election until April 3.
"In our opinion, it was rather ridiculous that we had to wait six months for the by-election to be called. By the time the new representative is elected, it'll be seven months and it was a bit of a hard thing to maneuver around," said Case.
Eight candidates are running in the by-election. Voters will go to the polls on Thursday, May 2.
Chatham-Kent Councillor Steve Pinsonneault is running for the Progressive Conservatives, Lucan-Biddulph Mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson is running for the Liberals, Kathryn Shailer is representing the NDP, Andraena Tilgner is running for the Green Party, Dr. Keith Benn will represent the New Blue Party of Ontario, Stephen Campbell is running for the None of the Above Direct Democracy Party, Cynthia Workman is running for the Ontario Party, and Hilda Walton is representing the Family Rights Party.