Waterloo Region is one of the largest aggregate producers in southwestern Ontario, providing several million tonnes of aggregates annually to local and provincial markets. As the region’s population continues to grow, so does the demand for aggregate products to support building and construction needs.
The Region of Waterloo has developed policies to help reduce or minimize the potential impacts of aggregate removal practices on the environment, especially our surface water and groundwater resources, and the surrounding rural and urban communities.
Panel Representative: Chris Gosselin, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Chris Gosselin is the Manager of Environmental Planning for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. He has two degrees in history from Concordia University, a B.Sc.(Agr) from McGill, and an M.A. in regional planning from the University of Waterloo. A member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, he is employed by the Planning, Housing and Community Services Department of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. In that capacity, he has reviewed countless development proposals since 1989, including many aggregate pit licence applications. In the latter case, he has worked with applicants to protect and enhance significant natural heritage features and ecological functions on their lands. He has also helped shape the Region’s environmental policies, most notably the designation of four “Environmentally Sensitive Landscapes,” concentrations of important natural heritage features of between 1411 and 8589 hectares, which together total just over 10% of Waterloo Region. He has also served on numerous watershed study project teams, managed the Regional Forest system, helped to convert an abandoned railway right-of-way to a multi-use Trailway, promoted the conservation of regional biodiversity, and drafted and monitored many Conservation easements. Chris and his wife Shirley live in Kitchener where they are active in their community.