How Ontario’s new bill hits the gas on Highway 413 and puts the brakes on bike lanes

The Doug Ford government introduced a new bill Monday aimed at fast-tracking Highway 413.

If built, Highway 413 would run through Ontario’s Greenbelt, prime farmland, wetlands, woodlands and waterways, connecting suburbs north and west of Toronto. Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have been trying to build it since 2018, and won re-election in 2022 on promises to deliver on the highway. But the process has been bogged down by intervention from the federal government — plus backlash over the 413’s environmental impact and the well-connected developers that stand to benefit from its construction.

Six years later, with shovels not yet in the ground and the premier hinting at an early election, the government is now making another attempt to hit the gas pedal. It’s selling the new legislation — which also includes measures to restrict bike lanes — as a way to solve the Greater Toronto Area’s traffic woes, despite years of evidence showing new highways don’t relieve congestion and bike lanes don’t cause it.

“It’s about making sure that people can spend more time with their families, not stuck behind gridlock,” Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria told reporters at Queen’s Park on Monday. 

If passed, the bill — dubbed the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act — could have consequences for the environmental impact of the highway, and the people currently living along its path. It would exempt Highway 413 from undergoing a provincial environmental assessment, allow the province to release less information about it, enable 24-hour construction and make it harder for landowners on the route to stand in the way. 

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Whether the bill will actually speed up Highway 413 is an open question, with the answer depending on a host of factors. Possible strike action by the provincial government’s engineers could throw a wrench in the 413 and other transportation projects this fall. There’s also the looming possibility of the federal government interfering with the project a second time. Hours after Sarkaria introduced the bill, the charity Environmental Defence sent a formal request asking Canada’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault to review the project. Guilbeault is mandated by law to reply by mid-January. 

Here’s a breakdown of what’s in the bill, which the government could pass as soon as Nov. 20 — and what it could mean for the environment and people on the ground. 

Ontario wants to build Highway 413 faster and release less information about it

Before most of the Ontario government’s big infrastructure projects can be built, they have to undergo an environmental assessment. It’s a process meant to study what the environmental impact of building something could be, and figure out ways to lessen any potential harm. An environmental assessment for the 413 has been in progress since 2007, though the Liberals briefly shelved the project before Ford took office and revived it.

Sarkaria’s bill proposes to exempt Highway 413 from finishing that process. Instead, it would go through an “accelerated” version, requiring a more limited review of the project’s environmental impacts. This would also allow the province to start building early works like bridges before it finishes those studies, meaning it could begin construction before it’s done accounting for the consequences. Ontario has already done something similar with the Bradford Bypass, another one of its priority highway projects, which is also set to run through the Greenbelt.

The province usually publishes studies done as part of an environmental assessment, but the new bill has a provision that would allow Sarkaria to keep them secret if they “contain information about sensitive natural or cultural heritage matters.” 

Sarkaria dodged questions from reporters Monday about why that power might be necessary and how he might use it. The minister said the government needs to “ensure that shovels get in the ground.”

“This project has been studied and debated for over 20 years,” Sarkaria said. “After two decades, the only thing that’s changed is traffic is significantly worse.”

Phil Pothen, a lawyer with Environmental Defence, said allowing early works to go ahead before studies are done renders the province’s process “meaningless.” The results of an environmental assessment are supposed to play a role in deciding whether or not a project goes ahead — it’s not supposed to be a foregone conclusion. 

“It really is just a window dressing exercise,” Pothen said of the new proposed process, adding the bill makes it even more urgent for the federal government to step in and do its own review of Highway 413. 

New hefty fines for landowners who might obstruct highway work

Another section of the legislation aims to accelerate a whole group of highways the Ontario government has designated as priority projects. That list includes the 413, of course. It also includes the Bradford Bypass, which would run through the Holland Marsh section of the Greenbelt north of Toronto, and the expansion of the Garden City Skyway in the Niagara region. But the legislation also says it could eventually apply to any other highway project the province chooses.

If passed, it would override most municipal bylaws to allow 24-hour construction on priority highways. It also includes new penalties for people or corporations who try to stop Ministry of Transportation officials from accessing their property for field studies on priority projects. 

Anyone who refuses to allow those visits or tampers with ministry equipment left on site may face hefty fines: individuals can be charged up to $50,000 for a first offence, plus an additional $10,000 for each day it continues and as much as $100,000 for a second offence. Corporations could be fined $500,000 for a first offence, with $10,000 per extra day and up to $1 million for a second incident. 

Asked about the penalties Monday, Sarkaria said it’s fine for people to disagree with the government, but not to block construction.

“I think it’s a very clear message that we will do anything and everything to get this highway built,” he said. 

The legislation also tweaks the expropriation process, which the government uses to take property from private owners when it’s needed for public projects. Landowners usually have the right to ask a judge for more time before they give up their property, but if the bill passes, they will no longer be able to do so for priority highways. That measure builds on another bill the province passed last spring, which also sped up expropriations.

Irene Ford, who lives near the eastern end of Highway 413’s proposed route and has worked with local groups to oppose it, said the new legislation shows the government doesn’t care about the environment or property rights. 

“It’s basically saying, ‘You have no choice, we’re building a highway,’ which is what this entire bill is,” she said, calling it “undemocratic.”

Ontario is adding red tape to bike lanes — and maybe removing existing ones

The government’s new bill also includes measures to restrict where bike lanes can be built in Ontario. Ford has been teasing such a move for weeks, expressing ire about two particular bike lanes in Toronto that fall along his regular commute to Queen’s Park — those on Bloor Street West and University Avenue. 

Ford has also claimed bike lanes are causing traffic problems in Toronto, despite evidence from around the world showing bike lanes usually either ease congestion or cause only minimal delays, while also lowering greenhouse gas emissions. 

The original version of the legislation didn’t include measures that would permit Ford to rip out bike lanes that have already been built. The government added that mechanism to the proposed bill on Halloween. 

Ford told Global News the decision to remove three Toronto bike lanes has already been made — not just the ones on Bloor and University, but also on Yonge Street. 

“It’s a done deal,” Ford told Global the day after his government introduced the bill.

The legislation also allows Sarkaria to request information from municipalities to “review” existing cycling infrastructure, but mostly, it applies to new lanes. If passed, cities would need provincial approval to replace a lane of car traffic with a bike lane. That approval will consider whether the bike lane could get in the way of cars.

Sarkaria tried to strike a balanced tone with reporters, saying the government isn’t generally opposed to bike lanes and is seeking a “reasonable approach” that keeps cyclists off main streets. At the same time, he dodged questions about whether the province intends to eventually remove bike lanes that are already in place. 

“What we’re saying is there’s absolutely a place for bikes and for bike lanes,” Sarkaria said. “We’ve made that clear, whether you want to take public transit, highways, bikes — there’s a place for you to do so.” 

Backlash to Ford’s plans has been swift. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which represents 444 of the province’s local governments, said the province is overstepping.

“Ripping up our roads will make congestion worse,” Chow said last week in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Meanwhile, the province’s failure to deliver transit projects on time has led to long construction delays and years of road closures that have made it harder to get around our city.”

Updated Nov. 1, 2024, at 1:55 p.m. ET: This story was updated to include a change to the proposed legislation.