‘This is my future’: Residents concerned with environmental impact protest plans for Highway 413

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 15, 2021
Alexandra Heck

For 17-year-old Heath Morris, the plans to build a highway spanning across the south of her community is short-sighted.

“This is my future,” she said, holding a sign alongside dozens of other protesters at the corner of King Street and Queen Street in downtown Bolton Saturday (Nov. 13).

Morris and others are concerned about the environmental impact of the highway, which Premier Doug Ford has committed to moving forward with.

“People in power don’t care about preserving the environment and protecting our future,” she said. “They’re just focusing on the here and now.”

Ontario Green Party leader Mike Schreiner was also at the protest.

He says that the proposed highway would pave over 2,000 acres of farmland in southern Ontario, 400 of which are protected by the Greenbelt.

“It’s going to supercharge sprawl and supercharge climate pollution,” Schreiner said, arguing that the roadway wouldn’t alleviate traffic congestion because it would lead to even greater pressure to develop on the roadway, further threatening Greenbelt protected land.

“If there’s enough money to build the 413, there’s enough money to buy back the 407,” said Ian Sinclair, a Caledon councillor who sits on Region of Peel council.

He says that if the tolls for the road were more affordable, he believes it would alleviate truck traffic and congestion across the GTA.

The Ontario has said that the 413 would not be a toll road.