Mon Sep 23 23:15:43 UTC 2024: ## Ford Pushes Forward with Controversial Highway 413 Despite Environmental Concerns
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has reaffirmed his commitment to building the long-delayed Highway 413, dismissing environmental concerns and stating construction will begin next year. This comes despite internal government documents obtained by CBC News revealing potential measures to expedite the project, including 24/7 construction and a customized environmental assessment process.
Ford claims that the project has already been studied extensively, declaring that “we’ve been working on this environmental assessment since before Moses.” He downplayed concerns about the potential impact on the Greenbelt and endangered species, stating that “hundreds of thousands of people are stuck in their cars” and that environmental concerns are “hogwash.”
Environmental groups like Environmental Defence strongly disagree, arguing that the highway is unnecessary and will have devastating impacts on the environment. Executive Director Tim Gray calls the project “a bad idea” and criticizes the government for attempting to “eliminate proper environmental due process.”
The project, initially proposed in 2007, was cancelled in 2018 by the previous Liberal government due to environmental concerns. The Ford government revived it in 2019, citing the need to reduce traffic congestion.
The government documents also suggest a potential ban on bike lanes where car traffic lanes are removed, despite acknowledging that this might not alleviate congestion. Ford, however, dismissed this warning and indicated that bike lanes are “more of an issue” on some roads than others, proposing to prioritize them on “secondary roads.”
The controversial highway project remains a significant point of contention between the Ford government and environmental groups. With construction set to begin next year, the debate over the environmental cost of Highway 413 is likely to continue.
First Piper 