The office of the Auditor General of Ontario released its Value-for-Money Audit in December 2023, with specific focus on the management of aggregate resources.

The audit scope focused on the Ministry’s oversight, licensing and permitting of aggregate extraction operations on both Crown and designated private land. Aspects of aggregate operations that are regulated by other ministries (such as air emissions, which are regulated by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and workplace safety, which is regulated by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development) were not part of the scope of this audit. The audit was conducted between January 2023 and August 2023.

As part of the review they met with Ministry staff, reviewed Ministry documents, attended inspections, consulted Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, but also met with external stakeholders including TOARC, OSSGA, aggregate producers, and groups such as Reform Gravel Mining Coalition.

The full report contains 18 recommendations and 31 action items, and can be found here.