Bill 212 must be opposed…

Bill 212 must be opposed because it prioritizes car-centric infrastructure at the cost of the province's climate goals, without any meaningful reduction in traffic. This bill proposes to force through Highway 413 through the Ontario greenbelt. The Greenbelt is an area of protected land of crucial ecological significance, which also helps support human life in Ontario. The Greenbelt protects particularly key forests that sequester carbon, farmland that provides food to Ontarians and economic revenue to the province, and wetlands that sequester carbon and filter drinking water that the province uses. Highway 413 would destroy this ecologically and socially crucial land. It would also cause great harm to the endangered red-side dace, a fish that is federally recognized as endangered under the Species at Risk Act. This highway will also induce greater demand for car usage, meaning that it likely will not have a significant impact on traffic or travel times within the province as more car drivers pour into this space. Ontarians will not gain a reduction of travel times under this act. However, Ontarians have much to lose from the continued loss of the greenbelt. Since there is very little benefit provided for the likely costs, this bill will be a net loss to Ontario residents and therefore should be opposed.

Instead, of prioritizing highways, regional rapid transit should be prioritized.