The following is a summary…

The following is a summary of comments being submitted on behalf of Walker Aggregates Inc. Further detailed comments are submitted in the attached letter from Walker Aggregates Inc.

Overall, the proposed changes to the PPS are generally supported as the draft document continues to strike a reasonable and balanced approach: This approach relies on the regulatory process already in place under the PPS and the ESA to protect endangered and threatened species and under the ARA in terms of resource management.

As discussed above, Policy 2.5.2.2 reinstates this balanced approach. However, the words “outside of the Greenbelt Area” should be removed. This would be a new restriction and is not currently applied to mineral aggregate operations in the Greenbelt Area (including the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and Niagara Escarpment Plan). Permission for aggregate operations continues to be subject to the “no negative impact” test, protecting these features and their ecological function in the long term.

Policy 2.1.10 seems to go beyond ‘matters of provincial interest’ and adds confusion to a long-established hierarchy between the protection of provincial interest (mineral aggregate resources) and matters of local interest (local wetlands). Accordingly, it is requested that Policy 2.1.10 be either removed or clarity be added to make the hierarchy clear and that municipalities cannot be more restrictive in this regard.

Further, it is recommended that wording proposed to be deleted at the end of Policy 1.1.3.8 be reinstated. It should continue to be clear that the expansion of Settlement Areas should be required to protect identified aggregate resources for long term use.

Finally, it is recommended that wording be added to Policy 2.5.2.3 to help promote the benefits of recycling by permitting accessory recycling in mineral aggregate operations outright and without the need for further Planning Act at the municipal level and/or further Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act approval. Again, the use of recycled material at licence pits and quarries should be determined and regulated through the licence regime already established by the Province.

Walker is a member of the Ontario Stone Sand and Gravel Association (OSSGA). We have reviewed OSSGA’s submission and we endorse its recommendations (also attached).

Most importantly, we request revisions to Policies 2.5.2.2, 2.1.10, 2.5.2.3 and 1.1.3.8 as follows:

i) Remove words "Outside of the Greenbelt Area" from Policy 2.5.2.2.

ii) Delete Policy 2.1.10.

iii) Replace words in Policy 2.5.2.3 with: "Mineral aggregate recycling shall be permitted within active mineral aggregate operations without the need for an Official Plan Amendment, rezoning or development permit under the Planning Act and/or a development permit under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act to promote mineral aggregate resource conservation."

iv) Reinstate language in Policy 1.1.3.8: “In determining the most appropriate direction for expansions to the boundaries of settlement areas or the identification of a settlement area by a planning authority, a planning authority shall apply the policies of Section 2: Wise Use and Management of Resources and Section 3: Protecting Public Health and Safety”.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed revisions to the Provincial Policy Statement.