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House Hansard - 26

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 8, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 26 - Feb/8/22
Ms. Leah Taylor Roy (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, Lib.)
  • Feb/8/22 10:20:04 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am tabling petition e-3766 today. The petition has been signed by Canadians across the country, but primarily residents of York Region and the riding I represent: Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill. They are very concerned by the Province of Ontario's decision to move forward with the construction of the Bradford Bypass without adequate environmental consideration of proposed routes or possible alternatives. The petitioners request that the connector highway known as the Bradford Bypass be designated by the Minister of Environment for a federal impact assessment under the Impact Assessment Act. The existing assessment was done over 25 years ago, in 1997, and on October 7 of last year, the Ontario government exempted this project from a provincial environmental assessment. The petitioners note that the bypass will result in adverse environmental effects within several jurisdictions. They argue that the bypass, which cuts across the environmentally sensitive Holland Marsh, including wetlands and farm lands in the Greenbelt and the Lake Simcoe headlands, would bring an average daily traffic of approximately 58,000 vehicles. They argue this would contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, add to phosphorus pollution, destroy wetlands and forests, threaten species at risk and allow more levels of road salt to flow into Lake Simcoe, which would endanger fish habitats. It would also destroy one of Canada's most significant historical sites: the Lower Landing, which is of great importance to first nations. The bottom line is that these petitioners are asking the federal government to do its duty, because the Province of Ontario did not. It is the Government of Canada's duty and responsibility to deliver on both ensuring the climate change targets that Canada committed to on the international stage and, more importantly, ensuring that we do everything we can to protect our fragile ecosystem.
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Context: House Hansard - 26 - Feb/8/22
Ms. Leah Taylor Roy (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, Lib.)
  • Feb/8/22 5:07:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been focusing on Saskatchewan, and the member has been mentioning that he wants Ottawa to be more involved and more supportive. I wonder if the member could comment on the success of the supercluster in Saskatchewan, the plant protein-based supercluster. I have a personal interest because I am a vegetarian, and one of my favourite snacks, chickpeas from Saskatchewan, comes from Three Farmers. Can the member comment on how that has gone? That was a great joint collaboration between the federal government and the provincial government.
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