William Guindon
Quebec environmental activist recognized for his commitment to the protection of ecosystems and the rights of future generations. At the age of 15, he brought the Grande Tourbière de Blainville (Great Blainville Peat Bog) file before the Commission de coopération environnementale (ACEUM) and the United Nations.
“It’s too late. The Blainville peat bog is already dead under your bulldozers. » — William Guindon, Le Devoir, April 8, 2025
Territorial Acknowledgment & Civic Intent
Indigenous history (Kanien'kehá:ka, Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee), millennial ecology, water territories of the Mille Îles River (Makigôtekw) and 6000 years of memory of the Grande Tourbière de Blainville.
Recognition of unceded traditional territory
I recognize with deep respect that the Grande Tourbière de Blainville and the lands of the Lower Laurentians on which my alert and research efforts are deployed are an integral part of the unceded traditional territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) nation, millennial guardian of the lands and waters of Tiohtià:ke and the Mille-Îles River basin. This natural space also constitutes a historic place of exchanges and shared passage with the Anishinaabeg nations and the entire Haudenosaunee confederacy. I salute their continued stewardship of Mother Earth.
- Kanien'kehá: ka: “People of the Flint” (Mohawk Nation), guardians of the Eastern Gate of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
- Tiohtià: ke: “Where the currents meet” (traditional Mohawk name for the archipelago and surrounding river basins).
- Haudenosaunee: “The People of the Longhouse” (Six Nations Confederacy).
The peat bog that remembers — Complete documentary file
Indigenous history (Kanien'kehá:ka, Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee), millennial ecology, water territories of the Mille Îles River (Makigôtekw) and 6000 years of memory of the Grande Tourbière de Blainville.
View complete documentary dossier →
Declaration of Intent & Civic Solidarity
“By bringing the safeguard of the Grande Tourbière de Blainville before the Commission de coopération environnementale (file SEM-26-003) and by submitting before the UN Special Rapporteur, my action is part of an inseparable solidarity with the defense of territories and respect for ancestral rights. »
“Wetlands are not simple industrial lands to be sacrificed. Truth and reconciliation require honoring memory, respecting treaties and rigorously protecting ecosystems for present and future generations. »
Official Resources & Education
Dashboard — Folder CCE SEM-26-003
Status of mobilization and environmental indicators
Peatland and rare ecosystems targeted by Stablex.
Maximum measured concentration vs standards.
Official press review
Find investigative reports, audiovisual interviews and publications in major national and regional media.
July 3, 2026
Protection of a peat bog in Blainville: A teenager’s fight at the UN
“At the age of 14, William Guindon contacted the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxic Substances to denounce the expansion of Stablex in the Grande Tourbière. »
April 8, 2025
“François Legault, you are destroying our future”
“Impacting open letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Quebec the day after the adoption under a gag order of Projet de loi 93 (Bill 93) facilitating the expansion of the site. »
Été 2026
CBC Podcasts: This Is Montreal
“Large format audio and podcast of CBC News on metropolitan issues in the Montreal region and mobilization for Grande Tourbière. »
July 2026
Exclusive interview: The historical approach to the CCE
“In-depth television interview with William Guindon explaining international remedies under ACEUM (Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement) and protection of Grande Tourbière. »
July 2026
News Aces: Super William to the rescue of Grande Tourbière
“Portrait of a committed young person who uses international law and science to protect endangered species and boreal biodiversity. »
July 2026
Blainville teenager takes Stablex fight international
“Investigative feature on how a 15-year-old student took on multinational waste operators and environmental deregulation via trinational legal mechanisms. »
Latest publications & Recent photos
Follow the latest analysis articles and authentic photographs of the Grande Tourbière de Blainville and the CCE (Commission for Environmental Cooperation) SEM-26-003 file.
Preuve CCE
Official confirmation CCE: First miner in the history of the SEM mechanism (since 1994)
The Secretariat of the CCE formally confirms in writing that William Guindon is the first minor in 32 years to submit a citizen communication.
Indépendance
Public clarification notice: Lack of collaboration and strict independence
Official update from William Guindon recalling the strictly individual and self-financed nature of the SEM-26-003 file.
Juridique
Advocating for the legal autonomy of adolescents: breaking the glass ceiling of ageism
Faced with bureaucratic paternalism, William Guindon calls on parliamentarians to recognize the civic capacity of 14-17 year olds.
Données géographiques SIG · OpenStreetMap & uMap Ouvrir en plein écran ↗
Indigenous Nations Space
Ancestral territory and environmental solidarity
The Grande Tourbière de Blainville and the St. Lawrence Lowlands are located on traditional unceded territories of First Nations, including the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) and Anishinaabeg peoples.
Earth Care & Intergenerational Environmental Justice
“We do not inherit land from our parents, we borrow it from our children. » The SEM-26-003 file is based on the shared responsibility to preserve rare wetlands against the burial of toxic and industrial materials.
Introduction
Early commitment, uncompromising determination
William Guindon (born August 3, 2011 in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Quebec) is a Quebec environmental activist recognized for his commitment to ecosystem protection and the rights of future generations. Author at age 14 of the official submission filed with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) under CUSMA and of a brief to the UN, he became at age 15 the first minor in history to obtain a positive CEC determination in the case of the Grande Tourbière de Blainville.
Youth and training
William Guindon grew up in the Laurentides region of Quebec. He completed his primary studies in Blainville, where he distinguished himself in sixth grade by winning third place in the regional final of the Expo-Sciences des Laurentides.
He continued his secondary studies in the Laurentians, where in 2023 he received the Méritas Prize in the “ambassador — intellectual curiosity” category, then in 2024 the Méritas Prize “commitment and humanism”. His academic results also earned him an exemption from the French and science final exams. A member of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, he reached the Silver Star level.
Certified Training & International Law
Specialized training completed through United Nations educational portals (UNEP and UN CC:Learn):
Introductory course in international environmental law
An Introduction to Climate Change and Human Rights
Community volunteering
From the age of ten, William Guindon became involved as a volunteer in his community:
- From June to September 2022, then from June 2023, he offers his services within the leisure teams of two CHSLDs in the Laval region, to seniors.
- Between 2023 and 2024, he will coordinate community garden projects in the Laurentians, in collaboration with municipal partners.
- At the same time, he develops programming skills, which he puts at the service of environmental transparency, privacy and citizen documentation (see his constellation of GitHub projects). ↗
Identity sheet
- Birth
- 2011
- Place of birth
- Quebec, Canada
- Nationality
- Canadian
- City
- Blainville, Quebec, Canada
- Training
- Secondary studies in the Laurentians
- Occupation
- Activist, student
- Main cause
- Grande Tourbière de Blainville
- International file
- SEM-26-003 (CCE / ACEUM)
Key actions
Highlights: from Blainville to the United Nations
- August 17, 2026 Positive CEC Determination — Canada's response required by October 16, 2026 Le Secrétariat de la CCE rend sa détermination officielle (PDF) ↗ en vertu des articles 24.27(2) et (3) de l'ACEUM, jugeant que la communication satisfaisait aux critères et demandant une réponse au gouvernement du Canada d'ici le October 16, 2026. William Guindon marque l'histoire en devenant le premier mineur à déposer et réussir à obtenir une décision positive dans le registre mondial des Soumissions SEM.
- November 28, 2021 Among the first children vaccinated against COVID-19 in Quebec At age ten, William Guindon was one of the very first Quebec children in the 5-to-11 age group to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. His initiative earned him public congratulations from the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, reported by the Journal de Montréal.
- April 8, 2025 Open letter in Le Devoir: “François Legault, you are destroying our future” He published an open letter in the daily Le Devoir, directly challenging the head of the Quebec government on the environmental and intergenerational consequences of the Stablex facility expansion project, authorized by Bill 93 passed under gag order despite the unfavorable report of the BAPE.
- May 1, 2026 International Submission SEM-26-003 (CEC / CUSMA) He officially filed submission SEM-26-003 “Hazardous Waste Disposal in Blainville” with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the trinational body established under the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement. He contends that Canada is failing to effectively enforce its federal laws protecting migratory birds, species at risk, and water quality. The CEC acknowledged receipt on May 4, 2026 and initiated its review under CUSMA Articles 24.27(2) and (3).
- May 2026 Formal Deposition to the United Nations Special Rapporteur Il transmet au Dr Marcos A. Orellana, Rapporteur spécial de l'ONU sur les substances toxiques et les droits de l'homme, le mémoire « Formal Deposition and Urgent Appeal: Human Rights Violations and Denial of Justice – The Stablex Case and the Imposition of Bill 93 in Quebec » ↗, au nom de la communauté de Blainville et à titre de représentant des générations futures. Le document soutient que le Projet de loi 93 viole l'article 7 de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés, l'article 3 de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme et la résolution 76/300 de l'Assemblée générale de l'ONU reconnaissant le droit à un environnement sain.
The Stablex file
A thousand-year-old ecosystem facing the landfill of hazardous waste
The Grande Tourbière de Blainville is a thousand-year-old ecosystem located in Blainville, included by the Quebec Ministry of the Environment in the Atlas of Territories of Interest for Conservation in the St. Lawrence Lowlands. The Stablex site, in operation since 1983, is the only center authorized in Quebec for the final burial of materials resulting from the treatment by stabilization and solidification of inorganic industrial residues.
- September 2023: The Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) concludes that the expansion project (Cell 6) is “premature”.
- December 2023: Citizen analyzes reveal cadmium concentrations up to 320 times higher than environmental standards in nearby surface waters.
- March 2025: The Quebec government adopts Projet de loi 93 under gag order, forcing the transfer of land belonging to Ville de Blainville (City of Blainville), including 278,000 m² of wetlands, to allow the expansion of the site.
- Blocked appeals: The law contains clauses excluding any legal appeal on the merits of the decision, which the Centre québécois du droit de l'environnement (CQDE) describes as a serious violation of the right to an effective remedy.
- Imports: Approximately 41% of the materials buried in Blainville come from outside Quebec, including approximately 29% from the United States, which establishes the cross-border dimension of the appeal filed with the CCE.
It is in this context that William Guindon chooses the path of law: rather than confrontation, he mobilizes national and international mechanisms: BAPE, ACEUM, UN, to demand that Canada and Quebec respect their own environmental obligations.
Legal & official documents
Online consultation and direct download
Access all the key documents submitted to the Commission de coopération environnementale register and to international bodies.
Positive determination CCE (August 17, 2026)
Secretariat decision (art. 24.27(2) & 24.27(3)) requiring a response from Canada (28 pages).
View document ↗Revised submission SEM-26-003 (July 16, 2026)
Complete official filing by William Guindon with the CCE Secretariat (15 pages).
View document ↗Formal deposition at the UN
Brief transmitted to the Special Rapporteur concerning human rights violations.
View document ↗Decision by the Secretariat (June 3, 2026)
Notification of CCE of June 3, 2026 setting the review deadline (17 pages).
View document ↗Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Understand everything about citizen initiatives and the SEM-26-003 file
Who is William Guindon?
William Guindon (born in 2011 in Quebec) is a Quebec environmental activist and student in the Laurentians. Author of the communication SEM-26-003 filed at the age of 14, he became at 15 the first minor in the history of Environmental Submissions (SEM) to obtain a positive determination of admissibility before the Commission de coopération environnementale (CCE / ACEUM). Consult his detailed biography, the Stablex chronology or the press sheet. ↗ ↗ ↗
What is the SEM-26-003 file with CCE?
Communication SEM-26-003 (“Landfilling of hazardous materials in Blainville”) denounces the failure to apply Canadian federal environmental laws (migratory birds, species at risk, cadmium discharge) in the context of the expansion of the Stablex site into 278,000 m² of wetlands. Find the complete chronology of the file. ↗
Why is Grande Tourbière de Blainville threatened?
The Grande Tourbière de Blainville is home to exceptional biodiversity and constitutes a major carbon sink. The expansion project would allow millions of tons of toxic waste to be buried, destroying 278,000 m² of rare ecosystems and contaminating waters with cadmium measured at more than 320 times the standards. View the perimeters on the interactive GIS map. ↗
What are the next steps after October 16, 2026?
On October 16, 2026, the Government of Canada is due to submit its official response. The CCE Secretariat will then determine under Article 24.28 of ACEUM whether it recommends the development of an independent Factual Record for vote by the Trinational Council of Ministers. Follow the official count live. ↗
Contact Details, Media & Secure Channels
You can contact William Guindon directly and easily by official email, or use the decentralized encrypted channel below:
Contact William Guindon by email
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William Guindon — Official Page
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