b'COVER STORYto enhance the way its people and goods move. Major projects include Economic Outputs creating Highway 413, expanding Highway 401, building the Bradford OSSGAs The Long Haul: Examining$ Bypass,andrehabilitatingtheQEWGardenCitySkyway,among other key initiatives. the Implications of Far-from-Market Aggregates is a study prepared byOntario is the economic engine of Canada, and we produce a lot the Ontario Chamber of Commerceof goods that need to be moved, and if they dont go by rail, they (OCC). It delves deep into Ontariosgo by trucks. Therefore, they need that road infrastructure, insists aggregate demands and outlines theMcSweeney.economic impacts of aggregate production onWiththeseandotherdevelopmentsplannedacrossOntarios the provinces economy.residential,industrialandcommercialsectors,onecanseewhy Using data from 2019, the report determinedaggregateproducersareinhighdemand.Withmoreinitiatives getting the green-light each year, industry stakeholders like Sweetnam that $1.7 billion worth of total new aggregatehope decision-makers recognize the importance of enabling access production in Ontario generated the followingto high-quality aggregate materials. After all, he says, Every time estimated upstream and downstreamyouapprovedevelopment,youreactuallyapprovingaggregate. economic outputs: Municipalities dont often think about that. A lot of times they approve all this development, and aggregates are an afterthought. That leaves $2.9 billion in gross output ($196 per capita) aggregate producers to figure out how to get the pits and quarries $1.6 billion in GDP ($107 per capita) licensed to meet demand.SHRINKING SUPPLY$150 million in tax revenue ($10 per capita) Aggregatehasanundeniableandirreplaceableroleinbuilding Ontario. The question is if aggregate producers have what they need $3.7 billion in gross output ($250 per capita)to keep pace. The answer, says Powers, is uncertain: Weve been lucky to have sources of high-quality limestone within 50 kilometres $1.8 billion in GDP ($124 per capita) of the GTHA since its inception, but that abundance is rapidly coming to an end. More than 90 per cent of our existing limestone deposits $1 billion in labour income ($67 per capita)in the GTHA have been sterilized by development, regulations or zoning, and the roads, condos and office towers that are being built 14,000 jobs right now are being supplied by quarries that were approved decades ago or nearly depleted.Moreover, Powers adds, the little remaining limestone in proximity houses;yourebuildingthestreets,thesidewalks,thecurbs,theto the GTHA that has not been excavated or sterilized is under threat gutters, the storm sewers, the sanitary sewers, the water mains, andby regulation, by NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) opposition, and other the water systems that go with that, as well as any upgrades of anybarriers: This dwindling supply of close-to-market aggregate is a required wastewater treatment plants and stormwater managementbig stumbling block for the provinces transportation targets, for its ponds and water filtration plants, Sweetnam says. housing targets, and its environmental targets.SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTUREThis issue is documented in The Long Haul: Examining the Implications ExpansionstoOntarioshealthcareandeducationsystemsareof Far-from-Market Aggregates, a study commissioned by the Ontario contributingtoaggregatedemand.TheprovincecommittedtoStone, Sand and Gravel Association (OSSGA) and prepared by the building over 30 hospitals and 300 long-term care homes between 2016Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC). It raises concerns over the and 2025 and earmarked $208 million between 2023-24 to supportdepletion of limestone quarries in close proximity to the GTHA. With criticalupgradesandrepairsat131hospitalsand58communitysupplies running out and fewer close-to-market operations coming healthcare facilities.online,thestudypredictstheregionwillbecomeanaggregate desert within the next two years, leaving no other option than to Ontario is also slated to spend $15 billion over 10 years for newbring in materials from over 150 kilometres away. school construction, with hopes of accelerating their development. InThe abundant supply of high-quality aggregate is rapidly coming a December 2023 statement to the press, Ontario Education Ministerto an end, and within the next decade, nearby supply is headed off Stephen Lecce noted: Our government is taking new measures toa cliff with far-reaching implications for city building, says Powers. ensure school boards are building schools in nearly half the amount ofThats largely because the number of pits and quarries data cited in time it took beforecutting down the timelines by nearly 50 per centthe GTHA continues to drop while the population continues to climb. through a transparent, accountable and clear process that prioritizesAnd if no quarries are licensed in the GTHA in the next 10 years, close-shovel-ready projects [so] that we get schools built faster for Ontarioto-market supply of stone, sand and gravel will disappear. families, and for the children of this province too.AmbitiousplansforOntariostransportationinfrastructureareCLOSE-TO-MARKETalso playing a part in straining current and future aggregate supplies.While mining activity in Ontarios North bodes well for the provinces Specifically, the province is spending $25.1 billion over the next decadeeconomy, to make good on its infrastructure plans, many believe that 12 AVENUESWINTER 2024'