09/09/2026
Please feel free to share this post!
PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM LANDEX EARTHWORKS
There really aren’t words to adequately describe just how pi**ed off we are today.
Sometime overnight, someone entered our private shop yard and deliberately set fire to our dump trucks.
Two of our four trucks have been severely damaged or destroyed.
These trucks represent years of hard work, investment and sacrifice. They’re how we make our living. They’re how our employees make their living. They’re a major part of a company that we have spent years building from the ground up.
To have someone come onto our property in the middle of the night and attempt to destroy that is absolutely infuriating.
Thankfully, nobody was injured. For that, we are extremely grateful.
There is some important context surrounding what has happened that we believe the public deserves to know.
On August 28, Landex Earthworks was contracted by the Township to demolish a barn on a property.
We did not condemn the building. We did not order the demolition. We did not make the decision.
We were simply the contractor hired by the Township to perform the work.
Township employees and two OPP officers were present while the demolition was carried out.
During the work, the resident was extremely upset and made comments toward our crew that we considered aggressive and threatening. We did not engage. We remained professional, completed the work we were contracted to perform and left.
Later that same night, three Township buildings were also the subject of fires.
We are not accusing the resident, or anyone else, of being responsible for those fires. We are also not claiming those incidents are connected to what has now happened at our property. Those are matters for police and fire investigators to determine.
Over the Labour Day weekend, mayoral candidate Ky-Lee Hanson chose to publicly share videos of the demolition that had been taken by the resident. Landex Earthworks was specifically identified as the contractor performing the work.
The public discussion that followed also referenced a zoning issue from earlier this year at our shop location. Some of the comments and rhetoric directed toward our company became hostile and concerning.
And to the people who chose to pile onto those posts with aggressive, hateful and completely unnecessary comments toward our company: you should be ashamed of yourselves.
You are entitled to disagree with the demolition. You are entitled to disagree with the Township. You are entitled to have an opinion.
But there is a human being on the other side of the business name you’re attacking. There are employees and families behind this company. People seem to forget that far too easily when they’re sitting behind a keyboard.
We were hired to do a job. Nothing more.
Considering how volatile this situation had already become, I personally believe the decision to publicly identify a private local contractor on an open forum and pull our company further into this dispute was incredibly irresponsible.
And yes, I’m angry about it.
If people disagreed with the Township’s decision to demolish the building, then question the Township.
Question Council.
Question staff.
Question the process.
But don’t make the contractor who showed up to do the job the target. We can assure you if it was not us. It would have been someone else. This was not in any way personal for us and we did everything we could to remain respectful and neutral.
We didn’t make the decision.
We didn’t create the situation.
We did our job.
I also want there to be absolutely no misunderstanding about what we are saying.
At this time, we have no evidence establishing that Ky-Lee Hanson, her social-media activity, the resident, the earlier fires, the people commenting online, or any other particular person or event is connected to the fire at our property.
We are not accusing Ms. Hanson, the resident, or anyone who participated in those online discussions of committing, encouraging, directing or participating in this crime.
Who did this, why they did it and whether any of these events are connected are questions for the OPP and fire investigators.
But we are entitled to be angry about what has happened.
We’re angry that our employees were put in an extremely uncomfortable situation simply for doing their jobs.
We’re angry that our company was dragged into a public dispute over a decision we had absolutely nothing to do with.
And we are beyond angry that someone apparently believed they had the right to enter our property and destroy equipment that we have worked years to own.
Our business was started from scratch with no financial assistance and we grew it through sheer hard work and by doing good work for clients. We are just a group of people that do great work together and love this community.
Enough is enough.
Landex Earthworks has spent years trying to be more than simply another company doing business in South Dundas.
This is our home. This is our community.
We’ve sponsored local sports and community organizations. We’ve supported events and initiatives. We’ve donated our time, money, equipment and resources when we’ve had opportunities to help.
We’ve created local jobs.
We support other local businesses and contractors.
And we’ve tried to give back to the same community that has supported us while we’ve built this company.
We don’t do those things looking for praise.
We do them because we live here too.
That’s part of what makes this so difficult to comprehend.
You don’t have to like me.
You don’t have to like Landex Earthworks.
You don’t have to agree with every job we take or every decision the Township makes.
That’s your right.
But disagreement does not give anyone the right to threaten people.
It doesn’t give anyone the right to trespass onto private property.
And it sure as hell doesn’t give anyone the right to set fire to the equipment people depend on to provide for their families.
This crossed a line.
Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
We want to extend a sincere thank you to South Dundas Fire & Emergency Services and every firefighter who responded to our property. When we needed help, you were there. Your efforts may have prevented an already devastating situation from becoming much worse, and we cannot thank you enough.
We also want to sincerely thank the Ontario Provincial Police for their response, professionalism and assistance.
We will cooperate fully with investigators and provide them with everything we have that may assist in determining who is responsible.
If anyone witnessed suspicious activity, saw an unfamiliar vehicle, has surveillance footage, or knows something that could help the investigation, please take that information directly to the OPP.
Please don’t use social media to make accusations or spread rumours. Let investigators follow the evidence.
To our employees, customers, friends, fellow contractors, local businesses and the many members of this community who have reached out to us:
Thank you.
The calls, messages and offers of help have meant more than we can adequately express.
The actions of whoever did this do not represent the community we know.
Today we’re hurt and extremely angry.
We’re disappointed.
And seeing two trucks that we’ve worked incredibly hard for sitting burned in our own yard is absolutely gut-wrenching.
But we’re also determined.
If the intention behind this was to scare us, intimidate us or hurt Landex Earthworks, understand this:
You damaged our trucks.
You did not destroy our business.
We’ve spent years building this company, and we’re not about to let the actions of one person undo that.
We’ll rebuild.
We’ll keep our employees working.
We’ll keep serving our customers.
And despite everything that has happened, we’ll keep supporting the community that we are proud to call home.
LANDEX EARTHWORKS ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE!
— Steve Gingras
Landex Earthworks
