b'TOARCTOARC: AN AGGREGATE How the Ontario Aggregate Resources Corporation TRUTHSAYER By Warren Heeley rectifies misconceptions surrounding aggregate T he environmental footprint beinginTheOntarioAggregateisResourcesOurresponsibilitiesinclude left on our planet has become anCorporation(TOARC)playsakeyroleinadministrationofleviesonaggregate importantinternationalissue.helpingthepublicunderstandexactlyproduction, rehabilitation of abandoned Climatechange,reductionofhowandwhereaggregateproduced(legacy)pitsandquarriesand,where carbonandgreenhousegasinOntario.Theorganizationsresearchlicences or permits have been revoked, (GHG)emissionsandimpactonnaturalisvitaltodisassemblingmisconceptionsthe production of aggregate statistics, resources are leading measuring sticks forandsettingtherecordstraight.Assuch,research on rehabilitation, and education establishing an industrys footprint. itperformsacriticalfunctionnotjustinofthoseinterestedintheaggregate Yetwhenitcomestotheaggregateinformation-sharing,butalsoinensuringindustry,explainsTOARCpresident industry, there is a disconnect between publicenvironmentalaccountability.Bruce Semkowski.perception and the reality of the industrys actualfootprint.Thisdisconnectalso extends to the important role aggregate plays in our society. Aggregate touches our lives in one way"Our statistics from 1998 to 2021 show the or another every day; without it, countless lifestyleproductsandinfrastructureneedsnumber of licences has fallen. The licensed area wouldnotbeavailable.Aggregateisalso strictlygovernedbymorethan24acts andregulationsthatincludealonglistofis basically flat, and disturbed land has shown environmental requirements.a slight increase since 2007, which takes into Still, increasing opposition to production and the need for high volumes of aggregateaccount the additional land in 2016have placed an unwarranted stigma on the industry.Someconcernsarelegitimate andelicitconstructiveresponsesfromtheBruce Semkowski, TOARCindustry; others are simply unsubstantiated truths meant to undermine the industry.12 AVENUESWINTER 2023'