TORONTO - Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak vows to proceed with a new highway linking Niagara with the Hamilton-Burlington region, despite some local opposition.
Two Tory MPPs from Burlington and Halton presented a petition in the legislature yesterday containing three-thousand signatures opposing a mid-peninsula highway linking Niagara to Hamilton and beyond.
But Hudak says he strongly believes a new highway would create jobs in the region and help reduce gridlock.
He says it has to be done in a way that brings the most jobs to the area and has the least environmental impact, and would require public hearings on its exact route.
Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring and local councillors who collected signatures opposing the new highway are worried would negatively impact areas such as the Bruce Trail.
The Tories say their members who presented the petition are not opposed to a new Niagara highway, but don't want it located in environmentally sensitive areas around Burlington.
