An agreement between the provincial and federal governments will allow Highway 413, Premier Doug Ford’s signature highway, to move forward with a joint task force dedicated to minimizing environmental impacts.
In a statement issued Monday, officials said the two levels of government agreed to a “collaborative process to assess and manage issues related to federal species at risk during project planning in Ontario.”
“This agreement shows the ability of Canada and Ontario to work together while recognizing their shared jurisdiction on environmental matters,” federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said in a statement.
“It also ensures that federal interests in species protection will be upheld while providing Ontario, in light of the recent Supreme Court decision, with a greater level of clarity around the Bill’s review process.” Highway 413″.
This “memorandum of understanding” comes after years of back-and-forth between the two levels of government over the Highway 413 project, a major Ford campaign promise that would see a 32-mile, six-lane highway connecting the regions of Halton and York. .
Environmental advocates and local farmers have criticized the plan, saying it will compromise crucial land and hurt businesses.
A 2022 report from Environment Defense identified at least 29 “federally identified at-risk species” that will be affected by the new highway and said it would cross more than 100 streams and rivers and result in the loss of approximately 400 acres of Belt land. Green.
In May 2021, the federal government determined that the highway warranted designation under the Impact Assessment Act, a law that gives them the authority to evaluate how the project may affect climate change.
After a Supreme Court opinion found the Impact Assessment Act to be unconstitutional, the government has been actively fighting the process for both Highway 413 and Ontario Place.
In March 2024, both governments said they agreed to resolve the court battle through a joint consent order. The designation has now been set aside.
The project has “some of the strongest (environmental) measures”: Minister
Speaking with CP24 on Monday afternoon, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the new six-lane highway would be built with “appropriate environmental measures and following very strict environmental assessment processes, like any other highway project in this province.”
The Brampton South MPP noted that Ontario will not, in fact, cancel the environmental assessment for this project, which he said has been underway for 15 years.
Instead, he said for the first time the federal government stepped in and designated the new provincial highway under the Impact Assessment Act.
“We are going to work with both the federal government and our existing environmental protections across this province. “As I said, we have some of the strictest measures,” Sarkaria said.
In the end, he said the Ford government is eager to get this project built and deliver on its promise to move Ontarians forward faster.
“The people of this province elected this government, they elected Premier Ford to build Highway 413. We know that we are going to save 30 minutes in each direction,” said the minister, noting in his interview with CP24 that as of Monday the order consent form in court has been signed for Highway 413.
“We want to get to work and today Ontarians received assurance that we can move forward on this project and build Highway 413.”
Sarkaria said the construction of this new highway in the GTA area is key to meeting the needs of Ontario’s growing population, noting that in the last two years two million people have come to the province and that it is expected that this ” explosive growth” continue.
“You know, the people of Milton, the people of Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, we see the gridlock every day trying to get into the city, it’s only getting worse and we need to make sure we build this infrastructure for next time.” generation,” he said, adding that the provincial government would work with all affected stakeholders, including affected farmers, along the 52-kilometre route, to mitigate any impacts.
“We need to build the infrastructure to keep up, but we will do it while making sure we protect the environment,” Sarkaria promised.
In a statement, the province’s Transportation Minister thanked the federal government for “meeting us at the table and collaborating on the environmental protections necessary to begin the project.”
In Monday’s joint statement, government officials released some more details about this agreement, saying that a joint working group will be created to “recommend appropriate measures to minimize environmental impacts in areas of federal environmental jurisdiction.”
“The joint working group will leverage collective expertise to protect the environment and ensure that impacts on at-risk species, such as the western chorus frog and red-headed woodpecker, and their critical habitats are considered before the project moves to the detailed design stage. officials said in the joint statement.
They further noted that the project is still subject to the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act and other provincial and federal protections, including the Fisheries Act, the Migratory Bird Convention Act and the Species at Risk Act.