Innisfil Council hit an impasse, over whether to express support for the Bradford Bypass – the proposed 16 km limited access highway that would link Highways 400 and 404.
A request was received from neighbouring municipality Bradford West Gwillimbury, asking for support for the Bypass, described as a vital link in the local transportation network, and a solution to the traffic congestion that is choking Bradford.
But Innisfil Council also heard from environmental groups opposed to the route which crosses the Holland River and cuts through the Holland River wetlands just kilometres from Lake Simcoe.
When it came down to a vote, every motion put forward – to defer, to support, or to ask the Ministry of Transportation to conduct a “thorough and transparent” environmental assessment – was defeated.
With Coun. Carolyn Payne on an extended medical leave of absence, only eight members of council were present. Every vote on the issue resulted in a 4-4 split, and a lost motion.
Councillors received a report from Innisfil’s Director of Growth, Leo DeLoyde, that answered some of the questions raised about the proposed highway.
“Consultation is an integral component of the Environmental Assessment design process, and thus is critical to the project’s success,” DeLoyde wrote.
He noted that the Ministry of Transportation is not relying on the 2002 Environmental Assessment, but is undertaking at least 15 new studies that include an Agricultural Impact Assessment, Air Quality Impact Assessment, Archaeological Assessment, Cultural Heritage Assessment, Drainage, and Hydrology Study, Erosion and Sediment Control Risk Assessment, Fish and Habitat, Fluvial Geomorphology, Groundwater Impact Assessment, Land Use and Property Impact Assessment, Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment, Preliminary landscape composition plan, Snowdrift Assessment, Terrestrial Ecosystems Impact Assessment and Human Health Impact Scoping Report.
The studies will be part of the Transportation Environmental Study Report (TESR), to be finalized in 2022.
Margaret Prophet, Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition, and Claire Malcolmson, executive director of the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition made submissions to council, questioning the extent of the studies, and the reliability of government promises.
Both have called for a Federal Environmental Assessment of the proposed road – and were turned down.
Prophet claimed that the 2002 Environmental Assessment for the Bypass contained “findings… which led to its cancellation,” and urged Innisfil Town Council to oppose the highway.
“We feel if Innisfil wants to comment on this highway, then it should be an advocate for farmland preservation, protecting water and the environment, and clearly stand against the Bypass,” she wrote – especially concerned that “early works” might be approved by the province before environmental studies have been completed.
Malcolmson, addressing council as a Delegation, also called for broader environmental studies, that would also look at impacts on migratory birds, species at risk, climate change, and carbon emissions.
She noted that LSRCA studies have shown that 54 percent of Greenhouse Gas emissions are related to transportation – that is, “individuals driving cars.”
“A highway is something we should press the button on, and say ‘Hey, climate leaders don’t build highways’,” she told councillors. “Let’s get all the answers here. The Bradford Bypass is a good example of a ‘business as usual’ development that actually helps drive more emissions.”
She also warned of the impact on the wetland itself. “Unfortunately, the Bradford Bypass would transect some of this very best protected land, and weaken it in terms of its ecological health,” Malcolmson said, impacting 22 hectares of woodland, 17 hectares of Holland Marsh, and 9.5 hectares of Provincially Significant Wetland.
“All this goes against the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.” She asked Innisfil to reject “empty reassurances that this will all be fine. Ask the province for more diligence and transparency.”
Malcolmson accused the Ministry of Transportation and the province of attempting to fast-track the project and exempt themselves from some of the promised studies.
“I am not accepting what the MTO is saying,” she said. “The process is inadequate – build now, study, and mitigate as we go.”
She asked Innisfil to pass a different resolution, calling for a halt to all early works, and construction only “after all provincial and federal environmental studies and mitigation plans are complete.”
In response to a question from Mayor Lynn Dollin, Malcolmson acknowledged that she drives between her residences, in Scarborough and Innisfil, using the 404-Green Lane-Yonge street route.
“I have had a traffic jam issue there maybe twice,” she admitted. “A little bit of traffic congestion, mostly on cottage weekends… but you don’t need a hammer to kill a fly.”
Malcolmson also identified the Upper York Sewage System solution project, the new Growth Plan for Ontario municipalities, and Innisfil’s own Mobility Orbit project as threats to the health of Lake Simcoe.
A second delegation, from Irene Ford of Vaughan, also asked Innisfil to refrain from supporting the Bradford Bypass.
“Politicians have not been critical of the Bradford Bypass,” Ford said, adding that the province has “no legislative authority to proceed with early works… By the time the studies are done, it will be too late.”
The highway will lead to the degradation of the surrounding wetlands, she said, adding that to support the bypass would show “Innisfil Council doesn’t care about the health of Lake Simcoe, the greenbelt, farmland, meaningful action on climate change, or the health and well-being of their constituents.”
As well as environmental concerns, there is the cost, she said. “The public is telling you… we will not tolerate taxpayer dollars being spent on something that predominantly benefits private interests (the commercial/industrial sector) at the expense of the public good.”
Ford, who commutes to Barrie, acknowledged that she is unfamiliar with the Bradford area and its traffic issues, but said that none of her co-workers had suggested traffic congestion was an issue.
“I live in a very congested area. I just can’t see that you have the same issue up there,” that would justify construction of a four-lane highway, Ford said.
The motion to support the Bypass came up later in the meeting.
Coun. Alex Waters urged council “to take a sober second thought” before expressing support for a highway that would cross the Holland Marsh Wetland Complex, “the largest wetland associated with Lake Simcoe.”
In addition to supporting wildlife, wetlands act as filters, taking up phosphorus, contaminants, and absorbing floodwaters, making “a huge contribution in terms of improving the quality of water entering Lake Simcoe,” he said, warning that the Bypass will lead to the degradation of the wetland.
When a highway cuts through a wetland, “within years, those wetlands become inadequate.”
He warned of increased salt contamination of Lake Simcoe, if the bypass highway and its bridges are built. “There’s no mitigation. There’s not something you can do,” Waters said.
Support for the bypass is not in keeping with the “sustainable infrastructure” Innisfil has proposed in its Mobility Orbit, a planned community of 150,000 on the shores of Lake Simcoe, Waters also said. By encouraging the use of cars, “This undermines everything about the Orbit.”
Questioning the adequacy of the environmental studies proposed, he urged fellow councillors to hold off approval until there is more information. “There are too many ifs with this project,” he said. “Defer this indefinitely, until proper studies have been done.”
Coun. Bill Van Berkel, who was on Innisfil Council when the bypass was first approved, seconded the motion.
“It’s going to go through anyway, but we should voice our opinions,” Van Berkel said. “The norm has become, let’s build it and then worry about it, and I think that’s totally wrong.”
He called for more detailed environmental studies. “We’re doing all these things at what cost? At what cost to our future? What cost to our grandchildren?... We need to worry about it today before it happens.”
Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson and Coun. Ken Fowler supported the deferral, Fowler calling the idea of proceeding with work before the environmental studies have been completed “a recipe for disaster.”
Coun. Kevin Eisses was opposed to deferral, arguing that Innisfil Council was stepping “way out of our lane here, by taking a stand” on an issue “way beyond” the scope of the municipality.
“The congestion that this is trying to be dealt with in Bradford is real,” Eisses said. “I do have a problem with somebody from Vaughan commenting on a road they’ve hardly driven on.”
He suggested that wetland mitigation is possible, citing the example of the Everglades in Florida, and concluded, “It’s an important issue, but there are other channels that some of these comments should go through.”
“Unfortunately, this east-west link should have already been built years ago,” said Coun. Rob Nicol, noting that most of the “few dozen” emails voicing opposition came from outside the area. “I think this is a needed highway.”
Coun. Donna Orsatti also opposed deferring the vote. While concerned about the wetland, she said, “I think the need for the bypass is great… We’ve gotten emails from people who are opposed, but we have so many residents in Innisfil that use that route – that use Yonge, that go through Bradford, that have to take the 404.
“I really feel it needs the support.”
Coun. Waters argued that Innisfil is not “out of its lane” by commenting. “We did not get into this lane because we asked to. We were asked. We were asked by the mayor of Bradford to weigh in on this because he wants strong support. We’re in the lane because we were asked.”
He said that the Everglades has survived because the state spends “billions of dollars” each year to manage the wetlands– something that won’t happen in Ontario, he suggested. “This wetland is going to dry up, and it’s what keeps Lake Simcoe as clean as it is.”
Waters said he was only asking for a deferral. “When the studies are done, then we’ll weigh in with a proper educated guess.”
Mayor Dollin noted that the Town of Innisfil has supported the bypass since 2002 and that the request from Bradford West Gwillimbury only came forward because she had asked Mayor Keffer if there was anything Innisfil could do to assist.
She also noted that the bypass wasn’t “killed” by a previous provincial government. “It was stopped just because of funding, not necessarily because of environmental concerns.”
Dollin agreed with the need for more robust environmental studies but pointed to the long list of proposed reports and studies as addressing the issues.
“We’re spending too much time on something we have no control over,” she said, noting she had heard support for the project from residents during the last election.
“I don’t think anybody said here that we don’t need that bypass,” said Coun. Van Berkel. “When they do it, it has to be done properly, not with a 20-year-old EA… We will support it once all these studies are done.”
Coun. Fowler also said he was not opposed to the highway. “We’re not saying no, but please give us the tools to say yes,” he said. “That’s the right way to do it.”
Waters opposed the bypass. “We lose all credibility for the Orbit and our green transportation,” he said. “If we’re going to allow this to go ahead, the Orbit and the GO train and the Green Transit plan is a farce, because we’re picking the car over Green Transit.”
He suggested, “There won’t be a need for the bypass because of the future we’re looking for Innisfil, and not for our neighbours down south.”
The motion to defer resulted in a 4-4 vote, resulting in a lost motion.
The original motion, expressing ‘strong support’ for the bypass, also resulted in a tied vote, and was defeated.
Staff proposed an alternative, notifying the Ministry of Transportation that “the town supports a thorough and transparent Environmental Assessment of the Highway 400-404 freeway link, with emphasis on state-of-the-art environmental design excellence and mitigation.”
Councillors Donna Orsatti, Rob Nicol, Kevin Eisses and Mayor Lynn Dollin voted in favour; Councillors Alex Waters, Bill Van Berkel, Ken Fowler and Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson voted against.
With another tie, the motion was defeated.
