More consultation needed on controversial GTA highway, province says as opposition grows

Thestar.com
March 4, 2021
Robert Benzie and Noor Javed

Stung by another municipality throwing up roadblocks to Highway 413, the Progressive Conservatives are emphasizing nothing is being paved yet.

In a surprise vote Tuesday, the city of Vaughan pulled its longstanding endorsement for the GTA West corridor, which will connect Halton Region to York Region, adding its name to the list of GTA-area municipalities who have expressed environmental and fiscal concerns around the $6-billion roadway that will cut through farmland and the protected Greenbelt.

The government, when pressed about the shifting municipal support for the project, emphasized it was not a done deal.

“This is, of course, a highway that still requires a number of consultations to be carried out, both with local officials in the area and it requires an environmental assessment,” government house leader Paul Calandra said Wednesday, in response to questions from the NDP.

“Obviously, there can be no denying the fact that this is a region of the province that has had tremendous population growth,” Calandra said of the proposed Vaughan-Caledon-Brampton freeway.

“But, having said that, we will continue our consultations within the community. We’ll continue the environmental assessment. If it makes sense to build this piece of infrastructure, we will. If it doesn’t, we won’t,” he said.

“There is consultation that still needs to be done before any construction is even contemplated on this.”

In the past few months, the province has been facing growing opposition from citizens, environmental groups, and now, municipalities including Mississauga and Halton Hills who say the project revived by the Doug Ford government in 2018, will have a “disastrous” effect on the environment.

Even long-time supporters of the project, like Caledon and Brampton, have endorsed a federal environmental assessment of the highway route, suggesting they have concerns with the streamlined environmental assessment the province is considering for the 413.

The Township of King, and Regions of Peel and York will weigh in on endorsing a federal environmental assessment this month.

NDP MPP Sandy Shaw (Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas) said the Tories should take the hint from municipalities and scrap the controversial highway.

“Almost every municipality that would be impacted by Highway 413 has now voted against the premier’s plan to fast-track this unneeded highway through the Greenbelt.”

Shaw said the only “special interests who still support the highway are well-connected donors and land speculators who own property along the highway corridor and stand to make big, big profits.”

“It is a matter of fact that many of these developers and speculators are friends and donors to the premier and the PC Party.”

The federal Environment Minister is expected to make a decision in May on whether Ottawa will take over the environmental assessment. But in the meantime, GTA-area MPs are beginning to take sides.

In an editorial last month, Wellington-Halton Hills Conservative MP Michael Chong expressed his opposition to the highway saying “the benefits of this new highway are far outweighed by the adverse impact it will have on our climate, our environment and our community.”

Liberal MP for Oakville North-Burlington Pam Damoff and Milton Liberal MP Adam Van Koeverden wrote a letter to Ford this week, expressing their opposition to the 413.

They also asked Ford to immediately stop all “early works” such as bridges over watercourses, which is allowed through the province’s streamlined environmental assessment process.

“The construction of a new 400-series highway will not lead to reduced congestion, it will only lead to increased carbon emissions and it will make it harder for Canada to achieve our 2030 and 2050 climate targets,” the letter sent on March 1 says.

“This project will only save commuters 30 seconds of travel time but could permanently affect our environment. Respectfully, Mr. Premier, you cannot build your way out of congestion.”