The federal government’s decision this week to review the environmental impact of Ontario’s Highway 413 will slow down the project by several months at least. But long term, the controversial project’s future is unclear.
The RCMP are investigating whether Vaughan Working Families violated election financing law. The corporation behind the group is led by Michael DeGasperis, a prominent developer whose ties to Premier Doug Ford were highlighted in a recent National Observer/Torstar investigation.
Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson decided to intervene on Ontario's Highway 413 Monday, a decision that throws the project's fate into question. But Wilkinson declined to step in on the Progressive Conservatives' other contentious highway proposal, the Bradford Bypass.
Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is required to make a decision by Tuesday on whether Ottawa will take over environmental assessments for Ontario’s Highway 413 and Bradford Bypass. His choice could have major implications for the projects’ futures.
By 2050, when the federal government has pledged to reach net-zero emissions, the planned highway could have created up to 17.4 million tonnes (or megatonnes) of greenhouse gases, according to a report from Environmental Defence.
Political watchdog group Democracy Watch filed a complaint with Ontario's Integrity Commissioner Tuesday about a lobbyist identified in a recent National Observer/Torstar investigation, which examined connections between the Ford government and developers with land near the proposed Highway 413.
The Bradford Bypass would cut through the protected Holland Marsh south of Lake Simcoe. It last received an environmental assessment in 1997 — before the policies protecting the area existed, and before the climate crisis was a major factor.
After a National Observer/Torstar investigation into the money, power and influence behind the controversial highway proposal, opposition parties at Queen’s Park called on the Ford government to kill the idea once and for all.
The premier’s office says the 413 is needed to serve a growing population and relieve pressure on highways that will soon be over capacity. National Observer and Torstar took an inside look at the money, power and influence behind Ontario's push to build the highway.
The proposed GTA West Corridor, which would run through the protected Greenbelt, would save commuters less than a minute. Peel Region turned its back on the idea Thursday, the latest in a flurry of councils to come out against it.