My first issue with Bill 212…

My first issue with Bill 212 is the exemptions being planned for Highway 413, specifically that it will be exempt from the Environmental Assessment Act. The impact of building this highway and further encouraging driving will have grave effects on the environment. This report from Environmental Defence highlights how Highway 413 would cause over 17 million tonnes of additional CO2 emissions by 2050 – the same date by which Canada is committed to reach net-zero emissions. The building of Highway 413 would pave over 400 acres of the Greenbelt, and over 2,000 acres of Class 1 and Class 2 farmland while harming over 29 species that are protected under the federal Species at Risk Act. We need to respect the process of evaluation and study the benefits and consequences of these decisions. We cannot ignore our environmental impact and how damaging the actions we take now will be to current and future generations.

Secondly, bike lanes do not make gridlock worse. This is an incorrect statement that has been disproven. While the addition of new car lanes may initially reduce congestion, induced demand shows that it encourages more people who may not have otherwise chosen to drive. Adding car lanes is a short-term solution that further increases our dependence on cars and will make traffic worse for years to come. The same principle applies when proper biking infrastructure, such as dedicated bike lanes, are added. Bike Share Toronto has provided data that clearly shows the increased demand. In 2015 there were 665,000 bike trips made annually and grew to 5.7 million trips in 2023.

The Toronto Deputy Fire Chief, Jim Jessop, stated that emergency response times have improved since the installation of bike lanes. The Ontario Traffic Council and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute have both issued statements stating that removing bike lanes will not reduce congestion and put the public at increased risk. Why does this government not want to listen to experts on the matter at hand?

In particular, the bike lanes on University Avenue were championed by the CEOs of the hospitals to provide a safe means of travel for doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. Below are copies of the letters from the Sick Kids and Mount Sinai CEOs. The Mount Sinai CEO specifically notes that 63% of hospital staff bike to work.

It is not common sense to destroy infrastructure that is actively being used. The city of Toronto spent millions of dollars putting these lanes in and now the province wants to spend millions of dollars removing them while further causing the congestion they look to solve? How is that a good use of my, or anyone else's, tax dollars? A city of Toronto report is estimating the cost will be at least $48 million. That is not a very fiscally conservative use of taxpayer money.

This province has far greater needs than addressing congestion, which again this bill is doing nothing to address according to accredited experts in the field. We need doctors and substance abuse resources, we need housing, and we need to seriously focus on the environment and being ecologically sustainable for years to come. If this government truly cares about easing congestion in Toronto, why haven't they approved the cameras that Mayor Olivia Chow and police have asked for to more easily fine drivers for blocking the box? Surely, that would cost less than $48 million.

Bike lanes make our communities safer and they increase patronage at businesses. The results of the Bloor Street bike lane pilot stated that "Total customer spending in the Bloor Street pilot area increased more than in the area surrounding the pilot and more than in the Danforth Avenue control area" and that "Motor vehicle travel times along Bloor Street initially increased immediately following the installation of the cycling facilities". The usage of cars as a means of transportation is overly stated. This report about business and bike lanes on Bloor Street demonstrates that the majority of people are arriving at their businesses by foot or via public transit. Arriving by car is the least used form of transportation.

Finally, Bill 212 includes a section stating that the government can "take possession of certain land for priority of a highway project" without providing compensation or offer affected parties the ability to apply for an adjustment of the date of possession for land under the Expropriations Act. This puts constituents at risk without any opportunity to pursue recourse and is not appropriate as owning property in Ontario has become a difficulty for many residents. The government is abusing their power and taking advantage of the public they are meant to serve.

It is reprehensible for the province to risk the overall ecological health of the province, the lives of cyclists and allow for the province to take citizen’s land away from them to build a highway that will ultimately not reduce commutes. It's also shameful for the province to limit the opportunity for public comment on this issue. These are not the actions of work being performed in good faith.