Ontario's official Opposition says when it comes to highway congestion, the government is trafficking in deceit.
Six weeks ago, Premier Doug Ford said his government considered buying back Highway 407, but backed off in the face of studies showing it would be futile. The NDP is now calling that claim into question, pointing to an FOI request that didn't turn up any such studies.
On Sept. 28, Ford told AM 640 Radio that his government "thought of" buying back the 407, which was sold by the Mike Harris government in 1999 — but decided not to do so because of studies showing that “all the 400-series highways are going to be at full capacity” in the coming decades.
He didn't explicitly say that his government had conducted those studies, but referred to one study that was personally given to him.
"And when they told me it's gonna be 20 years, full capacity on 400-series highways, I guess the person that gave me the study never travelled on the 401, because it looks like it's at full capacity right now," Ford said at the time.
A few days later, however, he suggested the option is on the table — and his minister of transportation has said the same.
In Thursday's question period, NDP Leader Marit Stiles said her party filed a freedom-of-information request for government studies on buying back Highway 407.
"And turns out there aren't any. No studies, no assessments, nothing," she said. "The Ministry of Transportation was unable to find a single record showing that the government had ever considered buying back Highway 407. So why did the premier make this claim?"
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria ignored Stiles' question, instead criticizing the NDP and Liberals and touting the government's transportation plan.
He was similarly evasive in a scrum with reporters outside the chamber, facing questions about just how far the government went in looking at buying back the 407. He wouldn't say whether anyone in the government had spoken to the owners of the highway.
"Look, just as we would on any other project, we continue to engage with individuals to look at feasibility, whether it be highways, how we build, how we undertake that process. So all that continues to happen," he said.
Sarkaria's spokesperson has previously told The Trillium that modelling showed the 407 would be at or above capacity by 2031 if the 413 is not built was done for the highway's environmental assessment over a decade ago.
One 2013 report found that the stretch of 407 ETR between Highway 403 and Highway 401 "is forecast to experience significant congestion in the peak direction" in the morning and evening commutes if tolls continued to rise at the rate of inflation.
Sarkaria's office didn't respond to a request for clarification on whether the government has spoken to the owners of the 407 about buying it back, or completed any studies to that effect.
Stiles said Ford is "misleading Ontarians again." She said the government should pay the tolls on the 407 for truckers — a popular proposal among environmental advocates who say it would relieve congestion on the 401 without building more highways.
She didn't say whether the NDP would buy back the 407 at an estimated $30–40 billion, but noted its lack of use.
"As I pointed out before, somebody literally landed a plane on the 407," she said.
Liberal MPP John Fraser also said a buyback should be considered.
"Because people are looking for immediate relief, not a tunnel a long time from now, or a highway 15 years from now," he said.
Green Leader Mike Schreiner said he wouldn't spring for the 407 at $40 billion.
"That money could be way better spent on building homes people can afford, bolstering our health-care system, getting our infrastructure repaired and ready to go, and paying for the tolls of truckers onto the 407," he said.
