This past week, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Environment Hamilton and Friends of the Red Hill Valley submitted comments to the Ministry of the Environment on a proposed policy for reviewing environmental assessment approvals in Ontario. The comment is part of a 15-year battle to make the province's approval process for major projects fair and transparent for all communities.

Proposed in the 1950s, approved in the 1980s, and changed in the 1990s, the Red Hill Creek Expressway has been a source of controversy in Hamilton for a generation. Despite widespread opposition by community members - including environmentalists, educators, engineers, musicians and native groups - the City of Hamilton refused to amend the highway design to better protect the Niagara Escarpment.