Ontario won’t submit Highway 413 assessment to feds until late 2023

Documents obtained by Global News suggest the province is aiming to submit new evidence on Highway 413 by late 2023 as a battle between the Ford and Trudeau governments continues.

The Ford government is closing in on making the case for its signature Highway 413 project — frozen for more than two years — as it prepares to send Ottawa new justifications for the route.

Government documents obtained by Global News suggest the province is aiming to submit new evidence by late 2023 as a battle between the Ford and Trudeau governments over the project’s future continues.

The two governments have been locked in a fight over Highway 413, which will pass through parts of the Greenbelt, for more than two years.

In 2021, the federal government flexed its regulatory muscles to freeze construction of the route. That decision was recently pushed to the courts by the provincial government.

Federal legislation, as it currently stands, means the project is stuck in limbo until Queen’s Park can prove it will be able to build the route through sensitive lands without harming several protected species.

“By building Highway 413, we would bring relief to the most congested corridor in North America – Highway 401 – and save drivers about 30 minutes each way during rush hours,” a spokesperson for the province said.

At the start of the year, provincial officials were aiming to submit fresh documentation to the federal government by the fall explaining why they should be allowed to build the highway.

Internal briefing documents prepared for the new Minister of Transportation, however, show the timeline has been pushed until closer to the end of the year.