An open letter to federal candidates | Caledon Citizen caledoncitizen.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from caledoncitizen.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 6, 2021 · 0 Comments
By ROB PAUL
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The federal government announced Monday that they will be getting involved and leading the environmental assessment of the proposed GTA West Corridor, a.k.a. Highway 413.
One of the most polarizing actions by Ontario Premier Doug Ford was the decision to revive and move forward with Highway 413.
The highway, if built, is set to run through Caledon, Vaughan, Brampton, and Halton Hills.
Originally proposed in 2003, but cancelled by the Liberal government in February 2018, the Ford government brought it back in November 2018 and have since received criticism from environmental groups and opposition from municipalities along the route.
Article content
What a cheap political stunt. The federal government’s decision Monday to impose its own environmental assessment on the Ontario government’s proposed Highway 413 is nothing more than a transparent attempt to curry favour with environmental groups ahead of this summer’s expected federal election.
The proposed 413 is typically described as “controversial” because it will take up farmland, require some Greenbelt land and cross numerous waterways. And yet, it would be difficult to build a new highway anywhere in Ontario without taking up land and crossing waterways. It would seem to be inherent in the very concept of building a highway.
Article content
Ontario’s proposed new mega-project to build a highway looping around the northwest of Toronto has been designated by the federal government for special environmental scrutiny.
The federal government says the provincial project, already facing opposition, needs additional environmental oversight, a designation that will slow the massive construction project or, opponents say, kill it altogether.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or Ottawa steps in to evaluate Ontario s Highway 413 plan, delaying or perhaps killing mega-project Back to video
“Canadians expect their governments to make decisions based on science and evidence that support environmental protection and economic growth,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, federal minister of Environment and Climate Change.
MONTREAL The chorus of voices is hoping to speak for a species living in a wooded area that is being developed for residential purposes on Ile-Perrot, off the western tip of the Island of Montreal. Green Party of Quebec leader Alex Tyrrell is part of a group that protested Sunday in front of federal MP Peter Schiefke s office in Vaudreuil-Dorion hoping to stop the first in a series of housing developments in a wooded area called the White Oak Forest where Western Chorus Frog populations live. It was the second protest against the development in the past two weeks.