There are no two ways about it – the proposed Highway 413 will cause irreversible environmental devastation. This six-lane, 52-kilometre highway would pave over 400 acres of the Greenbelt and more than 2,000 acres of Ontario’s most productive farmland. It would negatively impact 29 species at risk, including redside dace, red-headed woodpecker, Blanding’s turtle, western chorus frog and black ash. It would cross over 85 rivers and streams and destroy or partially destroy 75 wetlands (28 of which are provincially significant), polluting and damaging fish and other wildlife habitat. It would also cause more than 17 million ...
There are no two ways about it – the proposed Highway 413 will cause irreversible environmental devastation. This six-lane, 52-kilometre highway would pave over 400 acres of the Greenbelt and more than 2,000 acres of Ontario’s most productive farmland. It would negatively impact 29 species at risk, including redside dace, red-headed woodpecker, Blanding’s turtle, western chorus frog and black ash. It would cross over 85 rivers and streams and destroy or partially destroy 75 wetlands (28 of which are provincially significant), polluting and damaging fish and other wildlife habitat. It would also cause more than 17 million tonnes of additional CO2 emissions by 2050, the year by which Canada is committed to reaching net-zero emissions.
Highway 413 must be stopped.
In March 2024, the Government of Canada reversed its earlier and much lauded decision to conduct a federal impact assessment of the proposed highway. The reason? The Supreme Court of Canada had ruled that Canada’s Impact Assessment Act was unconstitutional as it encroaches on provincial responsibility.
The good news is the federal government has amended the Impact Assessment Act and can now re-designate Highway 413 for an assessment.
Please join Ontario Nature in urging the federal government to step in and fulfill its obligations to protect waterways, at-risk species, migratory birds and fish and to achieve its climate commitments. Specifically, we need the federal government to:
Let your MP know that Canadians do not want this destructive highway and have said so in multiple polls.
Ontario Nature gratefully acknowledges the work of Environmental Defence, the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Dr. Ryan Norris and others who are leading the fight to stop the 413.
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Photo: Proposed 413 Route, Old School Road with farm and escarpment view © Noah Cole