Doug Ford’s new highways will fuel demand for gravel from GTA quarries.

Approximately 70 per cent of Ontario municipalities have at least one mine, yet critics say the government has not done enough to implement necessary checks and balances to protect nearby communities. Instead, the Doug Ford government has opted to streamline regulations, they say, making it easier for companies to operate and expand mines with fewer protections for endangered species, environmentally sensitive lands and local drinking water.

“The government came into power with a commitment to give the aggregate companies whatever they wanted,” said Tim Gray, executive director with eco-group Environmental Defence. “The pendulum has now switched in favour of a carte blanche for the industry to site these things, operate them and walk away from them, in a way that has very little oversight.”

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