Large day of action against 413 held along proposed highway’s route

October 5, 2022 · 0 Comments

By Zachary Roman

People from this community and beyond gathered in Caledon on October 1 for a day of action against the proposed Highway 413.

The Brampton Fairgrounds, located in Caledon, was chosen as a central meeting point for a rally, as it is along the route of the proposed highway.

Many groups were involved in the organizing of a walk and cycle along the proposed highway’s route, each leading the way along a different part of what might be the highway in the future.

Organizers wanted to highlight with their event the farmland that would be paved over by the 413, and did so by including a farmer’s market at the fairgrounds, and one group stopped at a local farm along the way.

Betty de Groot, one of the secretaries for the local non-profit EcoCaledon, helped organize the route that she and other EcoCaledon supporters traveled on October 1. Since EcoCaledon has been outspoken in its opposition to the 413, de Groot said it was only natural for the group to join and support the day of action.

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“We started at Countryside and Clarkway, next to a cow and sheep pasture, and went north to Mayfield, near where one of the future on-ramps is slated to be for the proposed 413. We crossed the intersection and continued north on Humber Station Road, where we stopped at Malhi Organic Farm to buy some produce and show appreciation for what this land currently does: feed people!” said de Groot. “Then we continued, passing by the 100-acre farm where I grew up. All of the buildings have been torn down, the laneway is overgrown and inaccessible, but the willow tree is still huge and gorgeous.”

The fields on the farm where de Groot grew up are now mostly rented out by local farmers, who grow crops on them to try and make ends meet. However, de Groot said just behind the farm is Amazon and other warehouses, and that more are on their way thanks to the provincial government’s promise to build the 413.

“We carried on north to Humber Station and Healey, the northwest corner of which is now officially slated as the grounds for a hospital campus, thanks to the donation of the Wilson family… then west to our route’s end at Healey and The Gore, where another future on-ramp is slated to go. We passed many homes, some still in construction, along the way — we wondered how aware these new homeowners are of the looming threat of a highway on their doorstep. And though we passed many farm fields, strangely and sadly there are very few standing or occupied farm houses.”

For the most part, de Groot said on EcoCaledon’s walk they were met with support, and even met a few people who stopped their cars to learn more about the cause and take a “Stop the 413” sign from the group.