b'MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORAVENUESAvenues is published for Change takes patienceThe Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association 5720 Timberlea Blvd., Suite 103 Mississauga, ON L4W 4W2 A sIwritethismessage,wereallbusypreparingfortheholidayTel: 905-507-0711 www.theholestory.caseason. Its funny to think, however, that that by the time you readPublisher this, all the lights and decorations will have once again been packedRobert Thompsonaway and, regrettably, the only leftovers from the holidays will be the VISA bills! OSSGA Editor Richard HillierAnd isnt that so true of many things in life? We often dont enjoy the fruits of our labour until the next month, the next year or, dare I say, even the nextEditor decade. Things just dont always happen as quickly as we would like them to. ItsRoma Ihnatowyczno different in the aggregate business. Change takes patience, time and tenacity.Sales Executives Dawn Stokes, Derek de Weerdt,Lets think about the past 15 years in Ontario. There have certainly been a lotBrenda Ezinicki, Bill Biber, April HawkesPlease return undeliverable items to: The Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, 5720 Timberlea Blvd., Suite 103, Mississauga, ON L4W 4W2of policy changes. More often than not, those changes made it more difficult to secure close-to-market aggregate in the province. During those years, OSSGASenior Design Specialist worked diligently with the provincial government to educate policy makers on theJames T. Mitchellscientific benefit of extracting aggregate as close as possible to where its needed.Design Specialist They were polite, courteous, they listenedbut they didnt hear us. Marisa GiesbrechtOver the course of the last 18 months, OSSGA has continued its effort to impressAVENUES is published for theuponanewgovernmenttheimportanceofremovingbarriersfromclose-to- Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association by: market aggregate. We have been tackling everything from changes to the Growth Plan and the Provincial Policy Statement, to changes to the ConservationAct, the Endangered Species Act and, of course, the Aggregate Resources Act itself. With eachP u b l i s h i n gof these changes there are literally hundreds of voices the government is listening33 South Station Street to, each with their own point of view, and their own sense of urgency as to whatToronto, ON M9N 2B2 needs to be changed and why. 1-866-480-4717 Email: robertt@mediaedge.caHelping decision makers navigate through that cacophony of input to truly hear what OSSGA is saying has been our focus. Im pleased to say that weve been531 Marion Street pleasantly surprised not only with the level of access to government political staffWinnipeg, MB R2J 0J9 and bureaucrats that weve been able to secure, but also with the quality of the1-866-201-3096 policy discussions that weve been able to engage in. Our messages are gettingFax: (204) 480-4420 through, and we believe we are finally being heard! www.mediaedgepublishing.comBut once again, change requires patience, time and tenacity. We have achievedPresident some of our objectives. The most recent changes to the Aggregate Resources ActKevin Brown(ARA) included some long-awaited improvements to extracting from adjacent roadSenior Vice-President allowances and clarifying that the province is responsible for vertical zoning. TheRobert ThompsonProvincial Policy Statement (PPS) will be updating its language to be consistentDirector, Business Development with the ARA and, at the time of writing, we have a series of changes that wereMichael Bellhoping will be reflected in a revised Growth Plan to mirror the PPS. While we did not get everything we asked for, and there are things we frankly would haveBranch Manager preferred not to be included, the changes nonetheless mark a step forward.Nancie PrivNow is when the tenacity kicks in. Over the next few months OSSGA will beAll rights reserved. The contents of this publication may working with other infrastructure associations to amplify our voice and be heardnot be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, more clearly. Together, we need to continue to help the government appreciatewithout the prior written consent of the association.that close-to-market aggregate is both the economic and environmental answer toPublished February 2020 smart building in Ontario. And while we wont achieve instant success, we knowPUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT #40787580that our hard work today will build a stronger tomorrow. Avenues is printed on 10% post-consumer FSC certified paper using soya based inks. When necessary to mail an issue in an enclosure,Norman Cheesman, Executive Director, OSSGA we use an environmentally-friendly, 100% oxo-degradable poly-wrap.6 AVENUESWINTER 2020'