This bill is wasteful and…

This bill is wasteful and disrespectful to the people (taxpayers) of Ontario. Highway 413 will cost $10 billion or more and offer at best marginal benefits to a small number of commuters (far from "millions"). The government's own estimates show that commute times on the existing 407 would be shorter than on the 413, which will do absolutely nothing to improve gridlock in the GTA - indeed, it will likely make it worse.

The same can be said for removing bike lanes. Contrary to the government's claims, the bike lanes on Bloor and Yonge did not significantly change commute times for cars, and local businesses saw more customers after they were installed. Removing them will not improve traffic, but it will harm businesses even after the lengthy and expensive construction work is completed. This is to say nothing of the increased danger to cyclists, many of whom are delivering packages from local businesses on e-bikes. The words "safe" and "safety" do not appear anywhere in the government's proposal, as if human lives are not an important consideration.

Lastly, this bill is anti-democratic and shows tremendous disrespect to the people of Toronto, and indeed all Ontarians who value their local government and have no interested in out-of-touch suits in Queen's Park dictating municipal policies.