Highway 401, seen from above, winds through Ontario s Greenbelt. If built, Highway 413 would also cut through the protected area. Photo by Haljackey / Wikimedia Commons
The federal government’s decision this week to review the environmental impact of Ontario’s Highway 413 has delayed the project but long term, the controversial project’s fate is unclear.
In the months ahead, the federal Impact Assessment Agency will weigh what the scope of its review should be. But it’s unclear how rigorous that process will be, how long it will take, and what it might mean for the future of the 413.
“I think it s a bit of a wait and see,” said Laura Bowman of Ecojustice, an environmental group that has opposed the highway.
The RCMP is investigating whether third-party ads backed by a prominent developer with ties to Ontario Premier Doug Ford violated election financing rules.
In February 2020, Vaughan Working Families ran full-age newspaper ads in the Toronto area attacking teachers unions, which the Ford government had locked horns with that winter. In June, Elections Ontario found that the ads had been an “apparent contravention” of election law.
The president of the corporation behind Vaughan Working Families, Vaughan Health Campus of Care, is Michael DeGasperis, a prominent developer whose ties to Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce were highlighted in a recent
Ottawa has taken charge of the environmental assessment for the Ford government’s contentious Highway 413 project, but will leave a second controversial highway plan in Ontario’s hands.
The 413 which has come under increased scrutiny over its environmental impact in recent months will now be subject to a longer and more rigorous review. Many believe this effectively spells the end of the project. The planned highway, the subject of a
Torstar investigation published last month, would run through the protected Greenbelt. Canadians expect their governments to make decisions based on science and evidence that support environmental protection and economic growth, said federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in a statement explaining the decision Monday.
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