Hwy. 413 project must be stopped-- opinion

Theifp.ca
March 9, 2021

‘Superhighway’ threatens our farmland and greenbelt, writes Rick Bonnette, Mayor of Halton hills

Halton Hills council is now getting huge support in fighting Highway 413.

I opposed this “superhighway” years ago when the Liberals were in power. They held a three-member panel, which I spoke at in 2017. A year later it was killed, or so we thought.

After taking office, the Ford government announced it was resuming the highway project.

This highway has more lives than a cat.

Why are we opposed? This highway will pave over 2,000 acres of farmland and 400 acres of protected greenbelt land.

This will not fix congestion. This will lead to more urban sprawl, as developers will be building houses along the new route.

Adding a highway is like Homer Simpson loosening his belt buckle at a buffet thinking he is not gaining weight. Estimates for the highway are from $6-10 billion dollars.

I believe the pandemic will have profound changes to our lifestyles, that more people will work from home.

Let’s make a deal with the owners of the 407 Express Toll Route -- which is underutilized as it is -- for dedicated truck routes. Let’s invest in public transit. Let’s put money in rural broadband so people can work from home and not get into their cars.

Mississauga has now officially opposed the highway, thanks to a motion by Coun. Carolyn Parrish. Mayor Bonnie Crombie stated that “GTA west highway will have a disastrous impact on the environment, encourage residential sprawl and increase our dependence on cars.” Vaughan is now opposed, as are many GTA commuters, as is our MP Mike Chong. And MPP Ted Arnott is questioning it.

We have to think beyond the present, and question where will our food sources come from within the GTA? With climate change, who knows if we will be getting produce from the U.S.

In my last column, I wrote about Coun. Jane Fogal’s resolution to halt the plans to develop to 2051 during a pandemic without proper consultation.

I am pleased to share with you Halton regional council unanimously supported it.

The province demands the municipalities have their plans by spring 2022.