ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of how the Government of Ontario has responded to the increasing pressures for additional regulation of aggregate extraction, and to increasing concerns about the physical, social, and economic environment related to aggregate resource management. In the last 25 years, aggregate consumption in Ontario on a per capita basis has ranged between 15 and 20 tonnes per capita. With the implementation of the Comprehensive Set of Policy Statements several regional municipalities moved quickly to include policies in their official plans to severely restrict or prohibit aggregate extraction in such areas. In southern Ontario, where there is frequently no more than about 15% of the total area of any given municipality still covered by woodlands, steps are being taken to restrict or prohibit aggregate extraction in significant woodlots. Extraction within floodplains is also facing increasing scrutiny and testing prior to approval because of related environmental issues.
