In victory for Doug Ford, Ontario and Ottawa strike Highway 413 deal on environment

That will complement the provincial environmental assessment process that is already under way for the 52-kilometre freeway connecting Highways 401 and 400.

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, who been critical of the project — much to the frustration of Premier Doug Ford — hailed the accord.

“This agreement shows Canada and Ontario’s ability to work together while recognizing their shared jurisdiction on matters to do with the environment,” said Guilbeault.

“It also ensures federal interests will be maintained on the protection of species while offering Ontario, in light of the recent Supreme Court’s decision, a greater level of clarity around the review process for the Highway 413 project,” he said.

Last December, the province had pushed for a judicial review of the federal government’s plans for an environmental assessment at the site, saying it wanted to get “shovels in the ground” and avoid further delays in construction.

Then, in March, the province took the win when Ottawa agreed to submit a joint consent order to the federal court, cancelling that assessment.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the “agreement provides Ontario the certainty we need to move forward with Highway 413.”

“I want to thank the federal government for meeting us at the table and collaborating on the environmental protections needed to get the project started,” said Sarkaria.

“In the coming months, we will move ahead with procurement to get shovels in the ground on key interchanges of the project, bringing us one step closer to getting it done,” he said.

“Our province is in the middle of a period of unprecedented growth, with gridlock costing our economy upwards of $11 billion every year and we need our infrastructure to keep up. It’s never been more important to build roads, bridges, and highways that drivers rely on.”

Indeed, the move is a victory for Ford’s Progressive Conservatives, who made the highway the cornerstone pledge of their successful 2022 re-election campaign, and have implored Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s to cooperate.

The Tories won every riding along the proposed route that was then estimated to be as long as 60 kilometres.

Still, as the Star reported last week, there are other federal approvals and permits needed for the highway to move forward, including permissions under the Fisheries Act and possibly the Species at Risk and Migratory Birds Convention Acts.

The federal government ordered an assessment three years ago following concerns raised by environmental groups, area residents and others, especially around the impact on area farmland as well as the habitats of species such as the western chorus frog and a rare dragonfly.

An earlier Supreme Court of Canada decision found that Ottawa “plainly overstepped” its constitutional authority over the provincial project.

On Monday, the federal and provincial governments pledged that the joint working group would “leverage collective expertise to protect the environment and ensure impacts to species at risk, like the Western chorus frog and the red-headed woodpecker, and their critical habitats are considered before the project moves into the detailed design stage.”

Groups like Environmental Defence have opposed the project, which would cut through the Greenbelt of protected lands, paving over thousands of acres of farmland and cutting across various streams and rivers more than 100 times.

In a note sent out to supporters two weeks ago, the environmental group warned there are “still lots of steps that need to be taken to get the approvals necessary to build Highway 413,” including land expropriation, engineering studies and consultation with Indigenous communities.