Jeannine d’Entremont is a member of Halton Hills Climate Action.
Is Highway 413 a done deal? That’s what the Ontario government would like us to believe.
In 2025 the federal government issued a Protection Order for the endangered Redside Dace. This makes it illegal to destroy the fish’s critical habitat in the Rouge, Humber and Credit Rivers – all of which the current route of the highway crosses.
Healthy ecosystems support healthy people, animals and plants, as well as a healthy economy. And the tiny dace!
In December the Ontario Ministry of Transportation invited comment on a draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) for the 413. The deadline for comments on the 1,700-plus-page report was January 6. Interesting timing to expect people to read and respond to such a lengthy, technical report over the holidays!
Volunteers with Halton Hills Climate Action did take the time to respond, citing experts who report that several endangered species, including the Redside Dace, Western Chorus Frog and Rapids Clubtail would become extinct since the construction of the highway would destroy their habitat.
According to the Ontario Biodiversity Council, the ecosystem services from biodiversity in southern Ontario alone, such as pollination, water storage and purification, are worth many billions of dollars that are missing from the balance sheets that inform our decisions.
And yes, thousands of us are stuck in our cars on the 401 and 400 at a huge cost to the economy. But building another six to 10-lane highway will not reduce gridlock any time soon, if ever. First, the highway would take at least 10 years to build at an estimated cost of $10 to $15 billion.
Second, the well-researched phenomenon of induced demand shows that as soon as new lanes or highways are built, they quickly become just as congested as the existing routes. More highways equal more vehicles and tailpipe emissions and sprawl development, contributing to climate change.
What would reduce gridlock are proposals by the non-profits Environmental Defence and Transport Action Ontario. Their recent report, Transit over Traffic, outlines how, for the same money, Ontario could fund 400 kilometres of new rapid transit projects in the western GTA, moving more than twice as many people per hour.
Another idea is to fund commercial truck tolls on the 407 ETR, which would free up the 401 and 400 from transport traffic. This could be immediately piloted for a year to gauge the impact on reducing congestion.
If you agree that we don’t need another expensive mega-highway, here’s what you can do:
Print, sign and share with your friends and family this petition to Ontario’s Auditor General demanding a value for money audit of the proposed Highway 413
Call or email your MPP Joseph Racinsky and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, and tell them you oppose the highway and that you want your tax dollars spent on real solutions to gridlock that will preserve our natural environment
E-mail haltonhillsclimateaction@gmail.com and ask for a lawn sign (as soon as the ground thaws!)
Get involved with Halton Hills Climate Action
Order a beautiful Redside Dace pin to support our work.
February 23, 2026 in Halton Hills Today