Statement from Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition and Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition on Toronto Star’s Investigation into the Bradford Bypass

Barrie, ON – Yesterday, the Toronto Star and the National Observer published an investigative report on the Bradford Bypass which confirmed what our coalitions have long suspected.

• According to internal reports, the province is building a business case for the Bypass to become a future toll highway.

• The province recognized as early as 2014 that there were alternatives to this highway that would provide real traffic solutions that were less destructive and costly than the Bypass.

• Developers have heavily speculated the land around the Bypass.  This will bring more sprawl into the Greenbelt’s Holland Marsh wetland.  Their lobbying for the highway to make good on their land speculation distracts from the evidence that shows this highway poses no net benefit to the surrounding communities.

• The contamination of local watersheds and local wells are known by MTO and yet the highway approvals are accelerating without proper studies to safeguard public health.

Instead of being transparent with its decision-making and laying all facts on the table, the government has chosen instead to favour more clandestine decision making by exempting this project from the Environmental Assessment Act.  Although the province says it will continue to do the studies, the policy changes amount to the rigor of a test that a student creates, answers and marks;  there is no legislative authority about what gets tested, to what level, nor does it require public input or expert review from other ministries.  All of this has been done to start building a bridge on Yonge Street before a full cost analysis and engineering studies are done to ensure the project is feasible.

This highway project will be very costly and, if built, will have a permanent imprint on the communities, Lake Simcoe, Holland Marsh wetland and our climate.  A project that will cost almost $1 billion should stand on its merits in order to proceed.  Instead, we have internal government documents and publicly released studies that show there is no case for this highway beyond increasing profits for speculative developers.

This highway was first conceived in 1978 and its studies are from 1997.  Just because it has a legacy does not mean it is a worthwhile project.  In fact, in the context of a changing climate, more flooding and an ailing Lake Simcoe, we believe that a project this big, this expensive and this old needs a refresh.

For media contact:

Claire Malcolmson, Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition
(647)267-7572

Margaret Prophet, Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition
(705) 718-1383

Additional Resources
Link to FOI documents regarding tolling (at bottom of page under resources): https://simcoecountygreenbelt.ca/bradford-bypass/

Link to Toronto Star/National Observer investigations: https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2021/10/31/bradford-bypass-ford-government-secrecy.html
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/10/31/news/how-bradford-bypass-became-pork-barrel-doug-fords-rich-developer-donors