All party committee agrees to extend Aggregate Act hearings

By Kristen Smith
Posted 1 month ago

Stakeholders asked for more time to weigh in on the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) review, and the committee listened. The standing committee on general government (an all-party committee) reviewing the Act agreed Wednesday to extend the public consultations process and take it on the road, and have asked for the House Leaders permission. The committee was flooded with requests for an extension, and after a tremendous public demonstration, North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) chair Carl Cosack is pretty sure the House Leaders will agree. Cosack hails the committees decision as a demonstration of democracy in action. Public consultations (announced last Friday) were held Monday and Wednesday, and two more will be held Monday (May 14) from 2 until 6 p.m. and Wednesday (May 16) from 4 until 6 p.m. at Queens Park. There was concern about the short notice and location of the public meeting dates. Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones sent a release Sunday informing local newspapers and stakeholders of the meetings starting the following day. Four partial days of hearings is not sufficient to allow for meaningful public participation, said Jones. Jones says she was concerned municipalities, industry representatives, and residents of communities where aggregate extraction occurs would be left out of the process. Some of NDACTs recommendations include: making conservation of aggregate, a non-renewable resource, a priority over approval of new extraction sites; prohibiting aggregate extraction below the water table without a full Environmental Assessment and full understanding of the impact on all areas; prohibiting aggregate extraction below the water table in drinking water source areas; requiring new quarry proposals demonstrate the provincial market need for additional aggregate resource extraction; requiring Environmental

Assessments for all new or expanding aggregate operations; and, realigning the cost of virgin aggregate. Cosack says these recommendations were submitted to the committee in writing and he will not rehash them during his 15-minute presentation Wednesday at 5:45, the final presentation of this round of public consultations. He says policy regarding aggregate resources has to do more than be consistent, and prime agricultural farmland should be considered equal in value. It deserves the same level of attention from decision-makers as aggregate, or the Alberta Oil Sands, said Cosack. He says stakeholders should sit down and figure out a solution, adding NDACT is not against aggregate, but there has to be a better way of getting it than from under prime farmland and regions with significant headwaters. Maybe theres some creative solution, he said. The Georgian Bay Food Alliance aims to educate the public on the importance of fresh local food, according to chair Eva Meriorg. She says residents seem to feel the Melancthon quarry is too far to have an effect on South Georgian Bay. As a group we think its close enough to affect us, said Meriorg, adding they hope to establish Collingwood as a cuisine destination, and The Highland Companies proposed quarry would affect tourism and local food. One of our mandates is to facilitate and create a higher awareness about what will affect our food, she said. The ARA was last updated in 1997. A review in response to concern highlighted by the Melancthon Township mega-quarry was promised during the October provincial election, and announced in March. The committee will report its observations to the House and provide its recommendations to strengthen the act. The Committee will look at the consultation process; how siting, operations, and rehabilitation are addressed in the ARA; best practices and new developments in the industry; fees and royalties; and, aggregate resource development and protection, including conservation and recycling. People wishing to make a written submission can send comments to committee clerk Tamara Pomanski at tamara_pomanski@ontla.ola.org. -kristen.smith@sunmedia.ca