Ottawa and Ontario announce deal to scrap Highway 413 impact assessment

Ontario and the federal government say they have reached a deal to drop a federal assessment of the province's Highway 413 project after the Federal Court ruled it can be set aside.

"Through the agreement announced today, both Ontario and Canada have agreed to a collaborative process to assess and manage the issues around federal species at risk throughout Ontario's planning of the project," the province said in a news release on Monday.

The new deal means the highway project can proceed without a full-fledged federal environmental assessment.

On March 20, the provincial and federal governments filed a joint consent order with the Federal Court, asking the judge to set aside the project's designation under the Impact Assessment Act.

The release said the Federal Court has agreed.

In the release, the province said a memo of understanding has also been signed between the Ontario transportation ministry and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, and both levels of governments have set up a joint working group in which federal and provincial officials "will recommend appropriate measures to minimize environmental impacts in areas of federal environmental jurisdiction."

According to the province, the working group will use its "collective expertise" to protect the environment and ensure impacts to species at risk, such as the Western chorus frog and the red-headed woodpecker, and their critical habitats are considered before the project moves into a design stage.

The province added that its own environmental assessment process is "well underway" and it is committed to building projects that minimize environmental impacts.

"Both Canada and Ontario have robust and transparent regulatory regimes to ensure the environment is protected before major projects are developed," the release says.

When a tentative deal on this issue was announced in late March, environmental groups and opposition parties were upset because they had pushed for a federal environmental review of the project in light of what they have alleged was weak provincial oversight.

Last fall, the Supreme Court of Canada found parts of the Impact Assessment Act to be unconstitutional, ruling it was written in a way that could allow the federal government to make decisions about projects wholly within provincial jurisdiction.