Oakville Climate Action is holding a rally at Trafalgar and Cornwall on Saturday, July 24th, to spread awareness on Highway 413 and the impact that it will have on the environment.
"The proposed highway would pave over farmland, wetlands and portions of the Greenbelt in a time when we should be protecting them," said Aki Tanaka, a climate activist and organizer of ‘No More Highways - A Day of Action’ in Oakville.
A previously discarded proposal by the Ontario government for a 400-series highway had made its way back into discussion shortly after the first dismissal when Ford’s government was first elected. Highway 413, also known as the GTA West Corridor, would run for almost 60 kilometres going from Vaughan all the way down through Milton, connecting Highway 400 and Highway 401/407.
In partnership with Oakville Climate Action and Environmental Defence, a Canadian environmental advocacy organization, Aki Tanaka invites all citizens to stand in "solidarity" with folks in several regions such as Vaughan, Caledon, Simcoe, and Peel.
Citizens are invited to join members of Oakville Climate Action at the intersection of Trafalgar and Cornwall this Saturday, July 24 from 1-2:30 p.m. Tanaka encourages folks to bring signs for the event, providing ideas for slogans such as "Yours to Protect – Highways Destroy Nature!"
Throughout Saturday’s almost two-hour rally, you can expect Tanaka and other protestors to share their knowledge on the highway proposal and their reasons against the Ontario government’s plans for the superhighway.
With ideas including that Highway 407 is “underused” and that the GTA West Highway would “degrade” parts of the watersheds that flow into Lake Ontario, a significant source of drinking water for those in the GTA.
This is not Aki Tanaka’s first rally on this subject either. As an experienced climate activist, she has spent her time spreading the word on the future damage Highway 413 could cause to our environment through rallies organized by local climate justice group, Grand(m)others Act to Save the Planet (GASP). In addition to this, spending her time involved with an activist group in Halton. They are currently discussing "land use planning in Halton among other many issues," said Tanaka.
"Highway 413 is still only sketched out on paper. It’s not too late to listen to reason and cancel it. Ontario’s current government should look at the facts and evidence before them and cancel this highway again, this time for good," said Environmental Defence, in their report “Paving Paradise - The Impact of Highway 413.”
With an invitation to use your voice, the "No More Highways - A Day of Action" rally will go ahead, rain or shine, except for thunderstorms. Members of Climate Action Oakville and other protesting citizens will be lined down the streets this Saturday, July 24, 2021 at 1 p.m.