Feds Announce Environmental Impact Study of Ford Government Plan to Build Housing Near Urban Park

A hiker starts on a high graded hill climb at the Rouge National Urban Park in Toronto on June 15, 2021. (Giordano Ciampini/The Canadian Press)

Ontario’s plans to build housing could be disrupted if a newly announced federal study finds the development could pose a risk to a nearby national park.

The federal government announced it would conduct a new environmental study on the impact of housing developments that Ontario’s provincial government intends to build beside the Rouge National Urban Park.

Steven Guilbeault, minister of environment and climate change, was at the park in Markham on March 21 to announce he has ordered the Impact Assessment Agency to conduct the study in collaboration with Parks Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

He said the “terms and scope for how this study will be undertaken” is expected to be provided to the federal government by the end of June 2023.

Guilbealt said collaboration with the province was “impossible.”

“There is zero desire. I think the government of Ontario has been very clear: no desire for public consultation, no desire for transparency, and no desire to understand what the environmental impacts and the health impacts to Ontarians would be of going ahead with these developments,” he said.

Endangered Species Law

In November 2022, Guilbeault said the federal government will stop construction if required to protect habitats. According to the minister, the park is home to 42 at-risk species.

A government news release issued on March 21 said the monarch butterfly, bank swallow, red-headed woodpecker, and several species of bats live in the park, along with the Blanding’s turtle, a threatened species.

“We’ve used the law on endangered species, in some cases, to put the brakes on development projects. I don’t think we’re going to need to do it all the time. I think when we’ve done it enough times, people will understand that the party is over,” Guilbeault said.

He said the province of Ontario “has officially removed environmental protections for around 3,000 hectares of Greenbelt land in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.”

In a social media statement, Guilbeault elaborated on the study, stating it “aims to protect biodiversity, work with Indigenous communities, and support a vibrant park farming community.”

According to the minister, Parks Canada analysis suggests there is a “probable risk of irreversible harm to wildlife, natural ecosystems, and agricultural landscapes” if land adjacent to the park is developed.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford did not return requests for comment by press time, but told reporters he was not informed about the study.

He said the province would continue its plan to build 1.5 million homes over the next decade. “It shouldn’t slow down our development plans. It’s adjacent [to Rouge Park], it’s not right there, but good luck to them,” Ford said. “Isn’t it great that we can build a community and people can go there and walk through these parks.”

Guilbealt said, “I think these things really matter and I profoundly disagree with Premier Ford on this.”

“We know that the dynamic and enduring ecosystems don’t exactly flourish directly next to fences, asphalt roads, wastewater ditches, and urban sprawl,” Guilbeault said at the news conference.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.