Re: Comments regarding the…

Re: Comments regarding the Proposed Amendments to the Aggregate Resources Act

Here are some related comments:

1. I agree with the points made by Gravel Watch Ontario in their recent submission (Oct. 28, 2019): there is not a problem that needs to be addressed when it comes to the supply of aggregates in Ontario. No evidence is presented to support this supply shortage.

I attended and participated in sessions during the 2012 Review if the Aggregate Resources Act and was sickened by the fact that in almost all case the language, the approach, the terminology and indeed the outcome all favoured the aggregate extractors. Very little was changed to protect the public or the environment.

2. A stricter – not more relaxed – application and regulation process must be in place to protect our water supply for the future. Without a healthy environment there will be no healthy farms, residents or businesses. It is not right to ‘make it less burdensome for business’ to extract aggregates at the expense of safe drinking water.

3. There should be a rehabilitation cost deposit included with extraction applications. My understanding is that not only are pits and quarries frequently not rehabilitated properly or in a timely manner, but that the government’s own supervisory watchdog on quarries, MNRF, is so poorly staffed that they can do nothing to police or enforce proper rehab.

You don’t need ‘enhanced reporting on rehabilitation’; you need ‘enhanced enforcement of rehabilitation’.

4. My opinion is that Ontario's current aggregate policies and regulations are inadequate to protect our communities, farmland, water, heritage resources and environment. I have witnessed first hand actions by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs that illustrated not only bad communications, but bad planning practices. And when the Ministry of Natural Resources was brought in to ascertain the suitability of a certain piece of land, they never set foot on the property – and yet announced there were ‘no insurmountable constraints’ to extracting bedrock from the land.

A strong, comprehensive and well-enforced aggregate policy framework would eliminate this kind of botched behaviour; leading to a healthier, more predictable business environment, and better protection for our communities, farmland, water, heritage resources and environment.

5. Making it easier on business is the wrong goal. Protecting our environment should be the goal; and anyone profiting from extraction should pay the costs – now and for the future.