I strongly oppose overriding…

I strongly oppose overriding municipal bylaws to "designate priority highway projects". This is clearly an attempt to exempt lands slated for Highway 413 from the appropriate (and necessary) environmental assessments, regardless of the claim that the "...MTO will continue to maintain existing environmental processes to mitigate environmental impacts...".

The area where Highway 413 is planned to be built is environmentally sensitive land, and paving over it will have disastrous outcomes for the environment and for our future here in Ontario. Running a highway through it means this land is lost as a carbon sink, a natural habitat for native flora and fauna, and as a floodplain/natural flood control measure—forever.

The proposal that this highway should be exempted from any environmental assessment to expedite development suggests the government doesn’t care whatsoever about the environment and is not serious about eliminating gridlock.

The way forward is not to build yet another highway on environmentally sensitive - and necessary - lands, but to invest in and build a massive public transit infrastructure and augment municipal streets with alternative means of mobility such as bike lanes.

I question whether any planners, environmentalists, engineers or any other credentialed experts were consulted at all in the creation of this bill.

This bill should not move forward.