Sand and gravel are important non-renewable resources used in building roads, subway tunnels and public buildings.
They’re called “aggregate resources,” and have been under increasing public scrutiny lately, as seen in the rise of quarry issues in communities across the province. Public concerns, coupled with rapid expansion in many urban areas, have prompted a government committee to take a look at the powerful piece of legislation that manages aggregate extraction.
Recently, the provincial government’s standing committee on general government launched a review of the province’s Aggregate Resources Act, the piece of legislation meant to balance the need for aggregates with the protection of other important resources such as water and agricultural lands.
Unfortunately, the committee has scheduled four days of hearings at a time when many of its biggest stakeholders – Ontario farmers – can’t possibly attend. Hearings are scheduled in May – during prime planting season.
From an agricultural perspective, the Aggregates Resources Act is in dire need of more balance with due consideration of our soil as a valuable resource to be protected. Most aggregate resources are extracted from Ontario’s rural areas and a lot of that from under good farmland. Extraction of aggregates also often requires digging below the water table, and can put our groundwater resource at risk. And most importantly, it has an effect on our most precious renewable resource: our soil.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is extremely disappointed in the standing committee’s decision to hold a very brief review at planting time, instead of over the summer, when farmers would be free to participate in a meaningful way.
The subject is too important to be rushed through a quick hearing in Toronto. The committee needs to take the issue out to where the extraction happens – to hear the real concerns from those affected by extraction.
The OFA is seeking time on the standing committee’s agenda to represent Ontario farmers. The OFA’s written statement on this issue will soon be available on the website at www.ofa.on.ca.
The Aggregates Resources Act needs to better provide for the protection of farmland and our soil and water resources – for the preservation of Ontario agriculture. OFA will continue working with our government partners on this important issue, and we encourage our members to contribute to the discussion.
Keith Currie is an executive member of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture
