Mr. Jerry J. Ouellette: My question is for the Minister of Natural Resources. Minister, recently-I believe January 15 was the final court date-the Nichols gravel pit in Hagersville, a 233-acre site, has been operating for a period of time now without a licence. These trucks are taking gravel and aggregate in and out of the limestone quarry for an extended period of time, yet continue to operate day after day without a licence. Minister, how can this pit continue on to operate in breach of the law, without a licence?

Hon. Donna H. Cansfield: I thank the member for the question. As you know, we take this very seriously. Under the Aggregate Resources Act, a permit is required, but in this particular case there are extenuating circumstances. We are actually in court with some issues, so I have to be very cautious in my approach to answering your questions, but I would be more than happy to have a conversation with you.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary?

Mr. Jerry J. Ouellette: Minister, when you're dealing with aggregates anywhere in the province, there's a lot of controversy with a lot of individuals on the removal of the aggregate that takes place near the groundwater discharge, or the groundwater removal, and the trucking that takes place in moving the aggregate back and forth. I'm sure there are a lot of situations, but this isn't something that has just happened recently; it's an issue that has been going on for several years now.

I'm sure the House would like to know exactly some of those key situations that need to be addressed that we can try. Possibly there are some suggestions that we may be able to come forward with. Quite possibly, maybe it's a Ministry of Transportation issue, where the trucks are no longer allowed to participate in removing the aggregate from that particular site. Maybe you can enlighten us on some of the possibilities.

Hon. Donna H. Cansfield: Under the Aggregate Resources Act, we have the responsibility in the Ministry of Natural Resources for permitting the aggregate to be extracted. There's a very onerous process that they must go through. Attached to that is the requirement from the Ministry of the Environment for the taking of water. If the Ministry of the Environment is not happy, they do not get a permit. It's really quite simple. It's a very rigorous process to ensure that water protection is primary-t hat, in fact, they're satisfied.

When it comes to the actual hauling, unless the aggregate is based on crown land and it's a crown road, we're dealing with municipal roads. Then the municipality must agree to the haulage from that particular site. Once the proponent has satisfied that need for the municipality, again, we're more than happy to be able to issue that permit.

The Aggregate Resources Act is a very clear act that deals with extraction of a resource close to source-

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you, Minister.