Minister's Response

Project

Metrolinx is proposing to construct and operate the Ontario Line Project (the Project), a 15.6-kilometre transit line located in Toronto, Ontario. The Project would include 15 stations, with dozens of connections to existing local and regional transit networks to support the transportation of passengers, and would run from Exhibition/Ontario Place to the Ontario Science Centre, passing through downtown.

Decision

Non-designated project.

Reasons

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change has considered the potential for the Project to cause adverse effects within federal jurisdiction, adverse direct or incidental effects, public concern related to these effects, as well as adverse impacts on the Aboriginal and Treaty rights of the Indigenous peoples of Canada. The Minister also considered the analysis of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

The Minister has reached the decision that the designation of the Project is unwarranted for the following reasons:

  • the regulatory review processes that apply to the Project and related consultations with Indigenous peoples provide a framework to address the potential adverse aforementioned effects and public concerns raised in relation to those effects. These include:
    • provincial approvals and permits pursuant to Ontario Regulation 341/20: Ontario Line Project, Endangered Species Act, Environmental Protection Act, Ontario Heritage Act, and Ontario Water Resources Act;
  • the Project must comply with relevant provisions of federal legislation, including the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, the Fisheries Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, and the Species at Risk Act; and
  • the Project must adhere to requirements of the Department of National Defence to address any potential adverse effects on the land with the Moss Park Armoury, which is federal lands.

Document Reference Number: 154

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