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Richard Lindgren
Canadian Environmental Law Association
Counsel at the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA). Lindgren represented CELA in its formal opposition to the York1 landfill and argued that the federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada should designate the project for a federal impact assessment. After the IAAC rejected the designation request in October 2025, Lindgren called the decision "disappointing and inconsistent" and stated the community was considering an appeal. CELA also opposed Bill 5's broader environmental deregulation as creating inadequate protection for communities near industrial facilities.
Connected Scandals
The Ford government promised a comprehensive environmental assessment for a proposed landfill directly upstream from Canada's only population of the salamander mussel — then buried the reversal inside omnibus Bill 5 after winning a byelection on the promise, exempting a company whose owners donated $200,000 to the PCs from all provincial environmental review, leaving 33 species at risk in one of Canada's most biodiverse rivers with no provincial protection.
Argued for federal impact assessment designation for the York1 landfill; called the IAAC's October 2025 rejection "disappointing and inconsistent." CELA formally opposed Bill 5's environmental deregulation provisions.