Skip to main content
Start of content
Start of content

441-01416 (Environment)

Paper petition

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Whereas:

  • The government of Ontario has proposed Highway 413, a new 52-kilometer mega-highway which would pave over 2,400 acres of land including the protected Greenbelt, farms, forests, wetlands, and the traditional Indigenous lands of the Mississauga, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Chippewa, and Six Nations;
  • Highway 413 would increase greenhouse gas emissions by over 17 million tonnes by 2050, resulting in $1.4 billion in damages from said emissions;
  • Highway 413 would cost taxpayers $6 billion for a project that would do little to reduce traffic congestion and is redundant given its proximity to Highway 407;
  • Construction of Highway 413 would further endanger at least 29 federally-listed species at risk;
  • In the midst of the climate crisis, the Highway 413 project would only increase transportation emissions for a province that is already not on track to meet its targets for emissions reduction;
  • Ontario is attempting to undermine the provincial environmental impact assessment by allowing construction to begin before the assessment is completed and attempting to make highways less than 75 kilometers exempt from environmental assessments;
  • The majority of municipalities that would be affected by Highway 413 are opposed to the project and have passed motions requesting a federal environmental impact assessment; and
  • The impacts of the proposed highway fall under federal jurisdiction, such as, greenhouse gas emissions, federally-listed species at risk, and treaty rights.

We, the undersigned residents of the province of Ontario, call upon the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to commence a complete and thorough federal environmental impact assessment to identify, predict and evaluate the environmental effects of the Highway 413 project and conduct public hearings prior to the start of its construction.

Response by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable STEVEN GUILBEAULT

The Impact Assessment Act (the IAA) and its regulations establish the legal framework for federal impact assessments. On May 3, 2021, the former Minister of Environment and Climate Change determined that the Highway 413 Project (the Project) warranted designation under the IAA. The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) awaits the submission of an Initial Project Description from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (the Proponent). Once the Agency determines that the Initial Project Description conforms with the Information and Management of Time Limits Regulations (the Regulations), the impact assessment process will begin with the 180-day Planning Phase.

During the Planning Phase, the Agency will conduct a public comment period during which Indigenous communities, the public, other jurisdictions, federal authorities, and other participants will have an opportunity to provide input and identify key issues of concerns about the Project. The Agency provides these key issues to the Proponent as a Summary of Issues. The Proponent must then provide a Detailed Project Description to the Agency, which includes a response to the Summary of Issues that explains how it intends to address the issues raised. Following receipt of a Detailed Project Description that conforms to the Regulations, the Agency will decide whether an impact assessment is required for the Project. The Agency’s decision, including reasons, will be posted on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry (the Registry).

If an impact assessment is required, the Agency continues to engage with Indigenous communities, the public, other jurisdictions, and federal authorities to develop the Public Participation Plan, the Indigenous Engagement and Partnership Plan, the Cooperation Plan, the Permitting Plan, and the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines, which includes the scope of the factors that are considered as part of the impact assessment. The Agency must then issue the final Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines and plans to the Proponent, and post a Notice of Commencement of the Impact Assessment on the Registry before the end of the 180-day Planning Phase.

 

 

Presented to the House of Commons
Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre)
May 3, 2023 (Petition No. 441-01416)
Government response tabled
June 16, 2023
Photo - Matthew Green
Hamilton Centre
New Democratic Party Caucus
Ontario

Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.