Ford considers widening ‘jammed up’ Hwy. 407 East weeks after tolls were removed
Less than three months after removing tolls from the publicly-owned portion of Highway 407, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is considering expanding the now-clogged artery.
At an unrelated event in Pickering, Ont., on Thursday, Ford said he was receiving a growing number of calls from frustrated drivers who had hopped onto the toll-free 407 east, only to find themselves stuck in gridlock.
“People are coming home from the cottage; it’s getting pretty jammed up on there,” Ford said. “But if it’s jammed up there, I always say it must be taking congestion off another part, I guess the 401.”
Ford’s concerns about congestion came 10 weeks after his government removed tolls from the public portion of the 407, a move it promised would save drivers money and time.
A news release promoting toll removal — which officially happened on June 1 — said getting rid of 407 tolls would “help lower costs and fight gridlock.”
Weeks after that promise was made, however, Ford said he was considering expanding the route.
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“So I think in the long term, we might have to look at — we’ll work with the Ministry of Transportation and obviously the person that controls the money, Minister (Peter) Bethlenfalvy, to see if we can maybe add lanes on either side,” he said.
“So we’re looking at a plan to lighten up the traffic.”
Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said the rapid speed at which Highway 407 east became congested proves the policy Ford wants to pursue won’t work.
“When you build new highways or expand existing highways or remove road pricing from existing highways, it encourages more people to drive — it just leads to more gridlock,” he explained.
“That’s exactly why this ridiculous idea of the tunnel under the 401 or building Highway 413 and paving over 2,000 acres of farmland, 400 acres of the Greenbelt, is not going to solve gridlock.”
Over the past decade, Ontario has added a total of 134 km of new lanes to Highway 401 across the province. Despite the massive expansion, the crippling bottleneck at the centre of the highway worsened.
Schreiner said he wasn’t sure Ford understood induced demand — the phenomenon where adding more roads encourages driving and therefore congestion.
“Not even for the premier, but for a lot of people, it just seems intuitive that if you build more highways, expand existing highways that that’s going to solve gridlock,” he said.
“The reality is, it just creates an incentive for more people to drive and leads to more gridlock.”
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Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.
The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.
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About 200 jobs will be affected.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.
Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.
The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.
McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Toronto police say a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking two men with his car Wednesday evening.
Officers say they responded to reports of a collision in the area of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard in the city’s North York neighbourhood just before 10:30 p.m.
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Police say two men got into an argument, leading to one man getting into his car and hitting the other man with it.
They say the man then put his car into reverse, striking a second man.
A man in his 50s was transported to hospital with serious injuries and the second man, in his 20s, had minor injuries.
Police say the suspect from Markham, Ont., faces several other charges as well, including two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
A court document shows a Lindsay, Ont., man facing charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment was carrying a crossbow when he was confronted by a tenant.
The resident, Jeremy David McDonald, is also facing assault charges in the incident on Aug. 18 — a fact that has generated widespread interest in the case.
Police information filed in court alleges that Michael Kyle Breen damaged a window and screen at McDonald’s home and carried a crossbow.
The court document says the 41-year-old Breen is charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.
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Police have said that Breen, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing next week, was already wanted for unrelated offences.
McDonald, the 44-year-old resident, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after he allegedly “did endanger the life” of Breen.
Premier Doug Ford blasted the decision to charge the apartment resident, saying last week that it shows “something is broken.”
Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson wrote in a statement Wednesday that he recognizes the incident has generated significant public interest and “emotional” responses, but called some of the reaction “unjust and inaccurate.”
Robertson wrote that individuals have the right to defend themselves and their property, but the law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced.
“This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances,” he wrote.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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