(Photo: Ben Welland)
Linda Ablack is part of a community group protesting a mega dump development near Carlsbad Springs, Ontario.
When I heard about plans to build the mega dump I had to do something to stop it because of the threat to quality of life for me and my community. It means pollution of our air, water and land. Irreversible pollution. It’s not even about my own life. It’s the principle of it; we don’t need more landfills.
They way things are done today is for short-term gain and creating long-term pain. Shouldn’t it be long-term gain with little or no pain?
The amount of time ordinary citizens have to dedicate to fight these kinds of issues means we’re set up to fail; if you want to fight environmental injustice you have to put your entire life on hold. We keep getting told that there’s nothing to be done except comment until the dump is either approved or rejected or it goes to tribunal.
I was under the false impression that Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights could help us stop this project. I soon learned that these laws were nothing more than recommendations.
I had to step away from our community group fighting the dump in September 2014 because I was becoming too depressed by all I was learning and by how hopeless the future looked.
It was the Blue Dot movement that inspired me to come back and keep fighting. It gave me hope that something could be done. Here I am, two years later, and now the Environmental Bill of Rights is actually being reviewed. I can’t believe we’ve come this far. It’s a reason to celebrate.
I have hope for our community and for our province for the first time in a long time. Change is imminent. We will succeed.
Blue Dot relies on the efforts of dedicated citizens taking action in their local communities. Humans of Blue Dot is an attempt to capture the unique stories of some inspiring volunteers who have generously given their time to advancing the environmental rights movement in Canada.
