Ontario, Ottawa Strike Deal to Move Ahead With Highway 413

Ontario and Ottawa have reached a deal to proceed with the province’s Highway 413 project following accusations from the province of federal overreach. The joint announcement ends a years-long battle between the Ford and Trudeau governments that had indefinitely stalled the proposed 52-kilometre highway set to run between Milton and Vaughan. “In the coming months, we will move ahead with procurement to get shovels in the ground on key interchanges of the project, bringing us one step closer to getting it done,” provincial Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in an April 15 press release. The province and Ottawa signed a memorandum of understanding April 15 to establish a joint working group to curtail environmental impacts in areas of federal jurisdiction. The Federal Court has ordered the Highway 413 project’s designation under the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) to be set aside at the joint request of both governments....