Feds rule out environmental assessment on Ford’s Highway 413 — for good

The proposed Highway 413 project will not undergo a federal environmental assessment, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) has announced. The decision comes despite serious concerns raised by IAAC staff about Ontario’s handling of environmental protections related to the project.

The announcement late last week clears the path for the Ford government to proceed with its controversial highway.

Environmental Defence, an advocacy group that earlier this year requested the assessment, says the decision weakens environmental oversight. The group warns the highway will cut through critical environmentally-protected areas, harm endangered species, degrade water quality, and damage sensitive ecosystems like the Greenbelt.

That view was backed by 120 scientists who wrote to Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, calling on the federal government to conduct an environmental assessment of the highway, and warning of potential harm to ecosystems and endangered species.

A statement from IAAC president Terence Hubbard says the decision to forgo an assessment was informed by several key factors. Among these were existing federal and provincial legislative mechanisms, which were deemed adequate to address potential adverse effects of the project. The mechanisms include federal statutes like the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act, as well as provincial laws, such as Ontario’s Highway 413 Act, and the Endangered Species Act. 

However, the province recently passed the Building Highways Faster Act to streamline the highway construction process for “priority projects,” including Highway 413. 

As well, the Ford government’s Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, permits highway construction to start before finalizing environmental reviews or consulting Indigenous communities.

When the Building Highways Faster Act was proposed, the Ontario government said that, once passed, it would create an accelerated environmental assessment process for Highway 413. This would allow early work on the project to begin while maintaining what the government refers to as Ontario’s "stringent" oversight of environmental protections.

Hubbard said his decision was based on an analysis prepared by IAAC, as outlined in a forthcoming report.

“We’re incredibly disappointed,” said Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence. “This was the best tool available to the federal government to ensure a proper review of the impact on federal values.”

The federal government has been waffling on whether to order an assessment for Highway 413. When the highway was first proposed, former federal environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson ordered an assessment because of the potential impacts on three endangered species. That was reversed following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that found the federal Impact Assessment Act (IAA), which regulates major development projects, to be largely unconstitutional because it encroaches on areas under provincial jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court decision prompted the federal government to amend the Impact Assessment Act in June, which environmental groups argued opened the door for the federal government to revisit the matter. 

“Ontarians are being let down by the federal government’s decision to not put back in place a federal impact assessment for Highway 413,” Gray said. “It is now impossible for federal decision-makers to understand how to best mitigate cumulative impacts on the environment, and to understand species at risk and conditions downstream.”

There are 29 federally-listed endangered species along the highway route. Among these are aquatic species in need of protection, such as the silver shiner and the redside dace, Gray noted.

 Evidence strongly indicates the redside dace minnow may no longer exist in the wild in Canada, if the highway is built, Gray said.

“The federal government has a responsibility under the Species at Risk Act to ensure the survival and recovery of federally protected aquatic species,” Gray said. “Allowing this highway to move forward would destroy the remaining habitat of these endangered species.”

The group says environmental assessments, when conducted properly, prevent the government from falsely claiming that a project is safe.

When the federal impact assessment was initially dropped, the federal and Ontario governments signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint federal-provincial working group to address the impacts on federally-listed species at risk and their critical habitats before proceeding to the detailed design stage.

The provincial government states on its website that Highway 413 is a crucial component of Ontario's strategy to expand highways and public transit in the Greater Golden Horseshoe region and serve a significant population increase in the next 30 years.

Investing in infrastructure is vital in Ontario's long-term economic plan, with Highway 413 projected to contribute up to $350 million in real GDP annually during its construction, the government added.