- This legislation is…

- This legislation is unacceptable as it would loosen controls on the aggregate extraction industry, and would eliminate the opportunity for public notification, consultation, input and scrutiny.
- Timelines - development applications are approved for the extraction industry WITHOUT consideration of local conditions and mandatory sustainable business practices, which is unacceptable.
- It is people in our local communities, the foundation of democracy, who give rights to the businesses to exist in our communities.
- The Government of Ontario proposal includes no public notification, consultation and input- With the period for public consultation dropped from the application process, the “qualified person’s” assessment would not be subject to scrutiny by landowners, interested citizens, or local levels of government. This practice goes counter to a worldwide interest and curiosity in increasing public participation and engagement, the core to deep democracy.
- Request that the Government of Ontario adopt the Core Values for such public participation which have been advocated by the International Association of Public Participation, About Us - International Association for Public Participation (iap2.org), of which there is an active Canadian Branch.
- Every quarry is a significant development in a local community. The complexity of their proposals and the courageous conversations that are needed locally are not referenced in the proposed process of the Government of Ontario.
- Inspections are needed for water taking and there are known government constraints for inspections: Request that a baseline for frequency of inspections be set that integrates training for local communities such that local community monitoring and inspection be integrates– such as the Canadian Wildlife Service does for the birding population; and
• That the inspections take place throughout a quarry development process of quarry management, which includes exploration, development, early production, full production and reclamation.
- Water Taking Studies - In light of the increasing negative water experiences that affect the public health in Ontario as it pertains to groundwater and above ground water, namely drought and contaminated water, Request that the current limit of 400,000 litres of groundwater be maintained, and that
• The current limit be reviewed by an independent committee for the proposals based on the geographical area, acknowledging that some areas may require a reduction in the limit; and that
• Further this limit be reviewed by an independent committee and updated to take into account evolving climate change risk every 5 years.

- In light of the importance of this industry in local communities and impact on local water tables, biodiversity and local development plans, Request that the Conservation Authorities be a key stakeholder in all conversations held at the local community, Municipal Council, consultations with Indigenous Populations and Provincial engagements and consultations with any issues throughout a quarry development process of quarry management, which includes exploration, development, early production, full production and reclamation.