Mississauga is the latest to oppose Hwy 413 construction
The City of Mississauga is the latest organization to express its opposition to the provincial government’s plan to build a 400-series highway in the northwest of the Greater Toronto Area.
At its meeting on February 24, Mississauga Council adopted a motion in which it strongly opposed the construction of the proposed GTA West Highway, or Highway 413.
“The proposed GTA West Highway will have a disastrous impact on the environment, encourage residential sprawl and increase our dependence on cars,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “As a council, we’ve been so dedicated to trying to combat these issues, so we could no longer simply stand idle. Too many experts and organizations have come out against this planned highway, and today we stand with them.”
The proposal to build the $6-billion, 59-kilometre highway has been on the province’s books for about 15 years. It was killed by Kathleen Wynne’s government in 2018 before being revived a year later by Doug Ford’s government.
The highway, which is also known as the GTA West corridor, is plotted to run through Vaughan, Caledon, Brampton and Halton Hills, and connect Highway 400 with the Highway 401/407 interchange.
Those already expressing their opposition to the planned highway include Environmental Defence, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods, Gravel Watch Ontario, Halton Environmental Network, National Farmers’ Union-Ontario, Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, Sustainable Vaughan, Transport Action Ontario, the Wilderness Committee and Sustainable Mississauga; as well as formal votes from the municipalities of Halton Hills and Orangeville.
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, the regulatory authority for developments in flood plains, wetlands and valley lands has also objected to the potential impact of the proposed highway as well as the streamlined Environmental Assessment process.
“Ontario’s slapdash approach to building Highway 413 could mean severe damage to our environment, including wetlands, forests, farmlands, water sources, endangered species, and people’s homes,” said Sarah Buchanan, Ontario Climate Program Manager at Environmental Defence. “It would also put more cars and trucks on the road, at a time when the federal government has pledged to cut carbon emissions from transportation. But without a proper environmental assessment, we won’t know these impacts until it’s too late. If the province won’t protect our environment, the federal government needs to step in now.”
The Ontario government says the highway project is necessary given the rapid pace of growth in the GTA. By 2051, the population of the Greater Golden Horseshoe is expected to reach 14.8 million.