Staff– Midland Mirror - An online petition launched over the weekend is urging Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley to drop all charges laid against 17 opponents of the Site 41 landfill proposal.
The Anishinabe Kweag Protest Group, which protested for 137 days at the Tiny Township Concession 2 site, is behind the effort.
“All protesters charged were working to ensure that Site 41 would never receive waste, (and to) ensure the pristine groundwater in the Alliston aquifer would be protected for generations to come,” the group stated in a press release.

In a previous interview with The Mirror, ministry spokesperson Brendan Crawley said the provincial government will not intervene in the case.
“The Crown will make all decisions on the prosecution in accordance with the Crown policy manual,” he said. “Whatever the Crown decides to do will be done on the record, in open court, at the appropriate time.”
The charges stem from an injunction the County of Simcoe sought in July to halt an illegal blockade at the site. A total of 17 criminal charges were laid.
Simcoe County councillors voted Aug. 25 to halt construction of the landfill, and to withdraw a civil case against two protesters, Vicki Monague and Anne Ritchie-Nahuis. The county had been seeking $160,000 in damages from the two women.
The Anishinabe Kweag petition is available online at www.stopdumpsite41.ca.