MPP Arnott presses Government on GTA West Corridor
NEWS RELEASE
Ted Arnott, MPP
Wellington – Halton Hills
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2011
MPP Arnott presses Government on GTA West Corridor
Study
(Queen’s Park) – The GTA West Corridor Study’s Alternative 4-3 is a road to nowhere, says
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott.
Mr. Arnott spoke in the Ontario Legislature on November 23rd, on the very first day that it was
possible for him to do so, since the October 6th provincial election.
“For more than a year, the Council of the Town of Halton Hills has been raising objections to
Alternative 4-3,” he said. “The Region of Halton Council has expressed solidarity with Town Council,
as have I.”
Mr. Arnott questioned the affordability of the project, in light of the current economic realities.
“The Town has suggested alternatives, like the widening of the 401, which would undoubtedly be
less expensive, and thus more practical in today’s strained fiscal environment,” he added.
He called upon the Minister of Transportation to consider other, more urgent transportation priorities
in Wellington-Halton Hills.
The new Minister of Transportation, the Hon. Bob Chiarelli, was in the Legislature during Mr. Arnott’s
statement.
On August 2nd, Mr. Arnott publicly called for the suspension of the GTA West Corridor Study,
pending a review by the new Minister of Transportation after the election.
Just days later, the Government put the brakes on the study, acknowledging there needed to be
more consultation.
(Attached: Hansard record of Ted Arnott’s Member’s Statement in the Ontario Legislature,
November 23, 2011.)
– 30 –
Ted Arnott, MPP
Phone: 416-325-3880
Email: ted.arnott@pc.ola.org
Ontario Hansard – November 23, 2011
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Mr. Ted Arnott: It is entirely possible that the McGuinty Liberals may think the GTA West Corridor
study is a good idea. But for many of the residents of the town of Halton Hills, the study’s alternative
4-3 is a road to nowhere.
For more than a year the council of the town of Halton Hills has been raising objections to alternative
4-3, which is a proposed new highway corridor connecting the 401 to the 400. The region of Halton
council has expressed solidarity with town council, as have I.
Local residents maintain that this new highway, if it were to be built, would have a severe impact on
our local environment, heritage and historical sites, good-quality farmland, and the larger sense of
community in the town of Halton Hills, because it would cut off one portion of the town from the
other. It would also have a severe impact on property values.
Considering the perilous state of the province’s finances after eight years of uncontrolled spending,
the affordability of proposed projects like this one must be questioned. The town has also suggested
constructive alternatives, like widening of the 401, which would undoubtedly be less expensive and
thus more practical in today’s strained fiscal environment.
We have other more urgent transportation priorities in Wellington-Halton Hills, and in the spirit of co-
operation in this minority Parliament, I’d be delighted to work with the Minister of Transportation on
them, if he’s willing to do so.