Managing Southern Ontario’s mineral aggregate resources: A sustainability assessment framework to address the challenges of and opportunities for sustainability

Abstract

Aggregate resources are an essential commodity, yet extracting non-renewable resources directly conflicts with sustainable development. Over the past several decades, concerns over aggregates extraction as a land-use and the adverse effects of extraction have led to a strong opposition and controversial debate in the province. Following current practices, Ontario’s aggregate resources sector is currently unsustainable and overall does not contribute positively toward sustainability. Implementing alternative approaches to aggregate extraction may hold promise for Ontario’s aggregate resources sector to leave lasting positive legacies rather than further fueling a contentious land-use debate. Sustainability assessment is a tried and tested approach for identifying alternative methods and approaches to resource management that can lead to more sustainable outcomes. This research paper develops a sustainability assessment framework specified for the case and context of aggregate extraction in Ontario. It is aimed at the strategic, provincial policy level. Semi-systematic literature reviews helped to uncover the case and context specifics to support the development of the proposed aggregates-specified sustainability assessment framework. The proposed framework was developed through the use of an integrative literature review, as well as an iterative approach for specifying generic sustainability assessment criteria to the case of Ontario’s aggregate resources sector. Conducting a formal aggregates-based sustainability assessment in Ontario is needed to identify key opportunities and implement change for progress toward sustainability. Initial findings from this study uncovered key opportunities for Ontario’s aggregate resources sector to contribute positively toward sustainability, including by reducing demand for consumption of aggregate materials, improving rehabilitation requirements, improving stakeholder involvement and participation in aggregate land-use management, and revising Ontario’s aggregates revenues and fee structure. These proposed alternatives would require strategic policy revision at the provincial scale, and beyond. Formal application of the proposed aggregates-based sustainability assessment framework is recommended, and may require further specification to ensure all relevant case and context details are accounted for at the time of application. The proposed framework would be best applied when seeking more sustainable outcomes associated with aggregate extraction.