Episode 39: Highway 413 and the Greenbelt

On this Breezy Breakfast, we talked highways and greenways: the newly proposed Highway 413, and the timeless topic of the Greenbelt, which we're forced to keep bringing up due to the Province's persistence.

 

Here's a short timeline of our Provincial Government's relationship to the Greenbelt.

December 2018: the Ford government introduces Bill 66 – the proposed Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act. This bill included Schedule 10 which contained proposed amendments to the Planning Act. These amendments would have allowed development to occur in the Greenbelt. The Bill - without Schedule 10 - was approved on April 3, 2019.

December of 2020: the Ford government took away the power of conservation authorities to refuse developments that have received a ministerial zoning order. In addition, CAs cannot appeal these decisions via LPAT.

 

February 2021: Ontario announced plans to consider expanding the Greenbelt to include the Paris Galt Moraine and Urban River Valleys, including the ones connecting to the Paris Galt Moraine through the Speed and Eramosa Rivers.

 

The cynics among us might consider this newest proposal as a way to appease Ontarians who disapprove of the Ford government's environmental track record.

 

Indeed, the Ford government is set on building the GTA West highway, otherwise known as Highway 413. This highway would degrade parts of the Credit and Humber River watersheds that flow into Lake Ontario - the source of drinking water for millions of GTA residents. This 50-kilometre, six-billion-dollar highway would pave over two thousand acres of Ontario's most productive farmland. It is marketed as something that will address Ontarians' traffic woes; however, its estimated decreases in commuting time vary from 30 seconds to 30 minutes.

 

Last weekend, the plot thickened with reports about the various development companies that stand to benefit from the construction of Highway 413. Many of them have direct ties to various members of the Ford government.

 

Listen to this discussion to hear two sides of the development coin. Susan Swail, a registered professional planner specializing in sustainable land use planning policy, gave us the 411 on Highway 413. Mike Marcolongo, co-founder of Protect our Moraine and the Greenbelt West Coalition spoke on sustainable living in a province where it isn't always easy being green.

 

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