I read the proposal for…

I read the proposal for highway 413 and I do not approve of it

We have lost too much biodiversity and species in Ontario already, and we are about to witness the extirpation of the red side dace and critical wetland habitat if we go ahead with this highway. We have laws that protect endangered species, but those laws mean nothing if we disregard them. We will be no better than countries that exploit their resources that we judge on the world stage.

The way I see the proposal is 1 of 2 options.

Option 1 - We build the highway, in 10 years we will be just as congested as before, we will need to build a new highway and expand the 413 on even more critical habitat to stop even more congestion. We will make a mockery of our Endangered Species Act and prove to the world we don’t care about our wildlife. We will have extirpated the red side dace and pushed even more endangered species that much farther to the brink. The worst part of it will be when our kids and grandkids go to the ROM with us and ask us “Why don’t we have these fish anymore, what happened and didn’t we know better” and all we can do is look at ourselves in shame and tell them “well we could have done something but we wanted to build a highway instead”.

Option 2 - We don’t build the highway, we will have more congested streets but we will find solutions like everyone has when they are given any problem. We protect the endangered species that we promised we protect and stand up to our word. We leave the critical habitat for these species and still have them on our landscape. The best part about it is when we can tell our kids “We saved a species from going extinct and I left a better place for you than when we found it”

I'm not just some hippie, I voted for Ford. I have worked blue-collar jobs since I was 14. I enjoy every second I am outside, and I love the environment, it will be a shame if we lose even more species than we already have.

I don’t think we should build this highway. We need to stand by our word and protect the endangered species and our critical habitat. Every problem will have a solution and this highway is not the only solution to this problem. Let's lead by example and show Ontario we care about the environment, and not look at it as it is ours to destroy.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot. Nothing is going to get better, It's not.
Dr Seuss