CONTEXT AND HISTORY
Whereas the Province of Ontario initiated an Environment Assessment process in 2007 for the planning and construction of the GTA-West Corridor. “The Purpose of this study is to examine long-term transportation problems and opportunities and consider alternatives solutions to provide better linkages between urban Growth Centres in the GTA West Corridor Preliminary Study Area[1]. The Focus will be on developing an integrated, multi-modal transportation system that offers choices for the efficient movement of people and goods.”[2];
Whereas the final recommendation of the Stage 1 Provincial Environmental Assessment (2012) was to first put in place the transportation system management components, rapid transit, freight rail improvements and expansion of existing highways prior to construction of a new expressway;
Whereas the Stage 2 Environmental Assessment (design and route of Highway 413) undertaken by the previous provincial government was shelved because of strong objections by the general public and supported by an Expert Panel in the fields of rural development, renewable cities, agriculture, environment, and efficient transportation who sounded alarms over predicted irreversible ecological harm caused by the uncontrolled, low density urban sprawl enabled by the construction Highway 413 and identified Stage 1 EA conclusions surrounding Highway 413 as the solution were fundamentally flawed;
Whereas the current Provincial government revived the $6 billion to $15 billion Highway 413 proposal in 2018, saying it could relieve congestion issues in the fast-growing Toronto suburbs and boost Ontario’s economy;
Whereas concerned citizens of Caledon and a significant number of reputable organizations have demanded cancellation of the Highway 413 project, including: Environmental Defense, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Federation of Urban Neighborhoods, Gravel Watch, Halton Environmental Network, National Farmers’ Union-Ontario, Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, Sustainable Vaughan, Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT), Transport Action Ontario, Greenbelt Council, the Wilderness Committee and Sustainable Mississauga; as well as formal opposition of Councils from the municipalities of Halton Hills, Orangeville, Vaughan, Brampton, Mississauga, King, Toronto and Markham; and
Whereas the Federal Government has decided to conduct an Impact Assessment study for the proposed Highway 413,
AGRICULTURE
Whereas Ontario farming and food processing together employ one million persons and generate over $35 billion economic benefits annually;
Whereas the Greater Golden Horseshoe is the third largest agricultural producer in North America after California and Chicago;
Whereas the Province of Ontario is proposing to develop the Highway 413 Corridor by razing 2,000 acres of pristine farmlands, some of which are Class A and Class B farmlands and many of which will immediately cease to be farmed and other lands, over time, which will be developed for non-agricultural uses;
Whereas the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has not completed an Agricultural Impact Assessment for the Highway 413 Corridor;
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Whereas the proposed Highway 413 will cut across 85 waterways, and destroy protected Greenbelt lands including 7 entire woodlots, 220 important wetlands and valley land features, 10 different species-at-risk and hundreds of acres of vulnerable wildlife habitat,
Whereas the Greenbelt Plan’s permission for new infrastructure which negatively impacts key natural heritage features, key hydrologic features or key hydrologic areas requires determination that there is “no reasonable alternative” and this has not been established through a planning process;
Whereas the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority (TRCA), which is the regulatory authority for developments in flood plains, wetlands, and valley lands, has raised concerns about the potential impact of the proposed Highway 413 Corridor as well as the proposed streamlined Environmental Assessment process;
Whereas the Ministry of Transportation agreement to participate in the Conservation Authority’s Voluntary Project Review stipulates MTO participation will not require the construction of the highway to be compliant with the Conservation Authorities Act and only provides opportunity for the TRCA or Credit Valley Conservation Authority to document concerns and offer mitigation, adaptation and compensation strategies;
GREEN HOUSE GASES
Whereas the Town of Caledon has declared a Climate Emergency and is attempting to take reasonable measures to mitigate against climate change which reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs);
Whereas responding to the climate emergency requires immediate re-evaluation of all transportation plans as greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from transportation are among the highest single source of emissions;
Whereas alternatives to new 400 series highways such as increasing public transit, including the necessary local public transit networks, to enable broad access to higher order transit including high-speed electric trains; would provide effective long term transportation solutions;
INDUCED DEMAND AND ROAD ALTERNATIVES
Whereas the 407ETR was created as a truck by-pass in order to relieve congestion on Highway 401, but the 407ETR was tolled, thereby limiting the amount of goods movement relief provided by the 407ETR;
Whereas it is well known that, as new road capacity (lane-km) is constructed, traffic grows to refill this capacity by the phenomenon known as induced demand, meaning that roads are just as congested as they were prior to the construction unless they are tolled;
Whereas several reasonable road improvement alternatives to Highway 413 exist and were recommended by the Expert Panel, including congestion pricing on other highways, shifting truck traffic to the under-utilized 407ETR including the reduction or elimination of tariffs, and transportation system management on other highways (ramp metering, speed harmonization, compass etc. (freight, rail improvements, underpasses);
Whereas 407 International Inc. was granted relief by the Province from traffic volume penalties in 2020 and could be amenable to negotiation to provide tariff relief on its highway in lieu of penalties for 2021;
COSTS TO CALEDON AND PEEL
Whereas Highway 413 will require essential improvements or widening of arterial roads in Caledon and Peel near the Highway and at intersections along the path of the Highway;
Whereas funding obligations for these arterial road improvements will fall to Caledon and Peel taxpayers;
TRANSIT ALTERNATIVES AND TRANSIT ORIENTED COMMUNITIES
Whereas the planned Highway 413 will allocate provincial funds to the movement of vehicular traffic instead of much needed transit investments for complete transit-oriented communities;
Whereas transit investments and good land use planning decisions are vital to creating complete transit-oriented communities which are economically vibrant, where people and goods are moved effortlessly, and where multiple modes of transportation support the community including a focus on active transportation;
Whereas the proposed Highway 413 will lead to greater demand for development on more than 33,000 acres of Whitebelt lands in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Caledon and Vaughan), leading to greater urban sprawl and development that is not supportive of transit investment;
Whereas analysis has shown (https://ontario.transportaction.ca) that investment in various unfunded rapid transit projects, including GO Transit and LRT/BRT projects, can move 4 times the number of people as Highway 413, for the same invested dollars;
Whereas Transit Oriented Communities (TOCs) positively contribute toward a more environmentally friendly and economically sustainable communities. TOCs reduce the reliance on car-dependent trips for all members of the community, therefore reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and reducing the high costs of auto ownership thus contributing to achieving affordable housing outcomes;
Whereas strategic land-use planning requires public policy that communicates TOC as integral to a community’s long-term vision with supportive official plan and zoning provisions that facilitate density and mixed land use;
Now therefore be it resolved that the Council of the Town of Caledon strongly objects to the proposed Highway 413 expressway project as it is currently defined (see attached image);
That the Council of the Town of Caledon continues to support an integrated GTHA rail transit network which includes new GO Train service to Bolton (Caledon);
That the Council of the Town of Caledon fully supports a complete Federal Environmental Impact Study pursuant to s.9(1) of the Impact Assessment Act (I.A.A.), prior to any advancement of this project;
That the Council of the Town of Caledon requests that the province undertake an economic evaluation and time travel analysis of Highway 407 versus the proposed 413 Highway including the potential for congestion and non-peak hour pricing;
That if Highway 413 does not proceed, that capital costs of funding the proposed GTA West Corridor should be redirected to provide for rapid transit for the Regions of York, Peel and Halton such as investment in improved GO service on the Kitchener and Milton lines, a new GO transit line to Bolton, 407 Transitway and LRT/BRT on Major Mackenzie Drive and Queen Street;
That the Council of the Town of Caledon recommends that the province undertake a comprehensive economic benefits analysis of the potential for transit orientated communities along the GO Rail Transit Network and new LRT/BRT lines versus the cost of urban sprawl triggered by the proposed Highway 413;
That the province undertake a review of the provincial government growth plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the GTA regional transportation plan / sustainable communities strategy to provide holistic comprehensive policies for achieving affordable housing near transit-oriented communities stations including policies to achieve the province’s goal of 50 percent of all new housing over the next twenty-five years being within 800 metres of rapid rail transit station or high frequency (15 minutes or less, peak hour) bus transit. The province must also update its affordable housing program to recognize the relationship between housing affordability and transit including the positive role of housing near rail transit TOC stations to improve the operational efficiency of the province’s investment in mass transit;
That a copy of this resolution be provided to the Region of Peel, Region of York, Halton Region, the cities of Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Markham, Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto and the Towns of Milton, Orangeville and Halton Hills; and
Further that a copy of this motion also be sent to the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation, , the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance, the Honourable Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure and Transit-Oriented Communities, the Honourable Stan Cho, Associate Minister of Transportation (GTA), the Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Honourable Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Honourable Victor Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, the Honourable David Piccini, Minister Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Honourable Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General / MPP Dufferin-Caledon, Andrea Horwath, Leader of the Official Opposition and Ontario NDP Party, Steven Del Duca, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Federal Minister of Finance, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, Federal Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marie Claude Bibeau, Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agr-Food, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Federal Minister of Economic Development, the Honourable Domenic Leblanc, Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Federal Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Nando Iannicca, Chairman, Peel Region, all members of Federal parliament in the Regional Municipalities of Peel, York and Halton, all members of provincial parliament in the Regional Municipalities of Peel, York and Halton, the Region of Peel, York and Halton, all municipalities in Peel, York and Halton Region, John Mackenzie, CEO, Toronto Region Conservation Authority, Phil Verster, President and CEO, Metrolinx, David McFadden, Chairman, 407ETR, and Javier Tamargo, President and CEO, 407ETR.
[1] GTA West Corridor, Environmental Assessment Terms of Reference; June 2007. Pg. 4, refer to: https://www.highway413.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GTA-West-ToR-Amended-July-2007.pdf
[1] Ibid. Pg. 11.
[1] GTA West Corridor, Environmental Assessment Terms of Reference; June 2007. Pg. 4, refer to: https://www.highway413.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GTA-West-ToR-Amended-July-2007.pdf
[2] Ibid. Pg. 11.