First Nations on-the-water protest planned near Dresden

By Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice

A canoe relay to oppose Bill 5 and the Dresden landfill project is taking place July 13.

Led by First Nation water protectors and settlers, Paddle for Nibi (Ojibwe for sacred water) participants will traverse the Sydenham River between Molly’s Creek and Wallaceburg to support the river’s rich ecosystem.

According to a media release from the grassroots effort, the goal is to defend sacred waters and treaty rights while promoting environmental justice.

“This call to action arises in direct opposition to Ontario’s Bill 5 and the proposed York1 Dresden landfill, which threaten the ecological integrity of the Sydenham watershed and violate foundational treaties,” the release said. “Our waters are sacred. Our treaties are still alive. And our voices will be heard.”

The journey will begin with a sunrise ceremony and will continue relay-style between Dresden’s Molly’s Creek and Wallaceburg.

The release points out that the Detroit Treaty from 1790 and the 1794 Jay Treaty codified protections for First Nations sovereignty and land. Part of Bill 5, The Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act 2025, “tramples those agreements,” stripping environmental oversight without Indigenous consent or proper consultation, according to First Nations officials.

The group states that the landfill – mere metres from federally protected waters – endangers the Kettle Point aquifer and violates the 1982 Constitution Act.

Due process and environmental protections are being dismantled, blocking First Nations and public legal remedies, organizers said.

“This is more than policy. It’s an environmental and human rights crisis.”

The group is currently taking registrations for the paddle. Participants must be age 16 or older and safety guides and life jackets are required.

Each two-member canoe team will complete a three-kilometre segment.

The event is drug and alcohol free.

Paddle for Nibi is being sponsored by Walpole Island First Nation and Dresden Citizens Against Reckless Environmental Disposal (C.A.R.E.D.)

For more information, email chloewhitedeleary@gmail.com or jakubec@protonmail.com.