Northern Ontario site selected for #NuclearWaste underground repository

A region in northern Ontario was chosen Thursday as the site to hold Canada's nuclear waste in a deep geological repository, a critical milestone in a $26-billion, decades-long project to bury millions of used fuel bundles underground.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
Nov 28, 2024

"The site selection process began in 2010 with 22 potential locations and was eventually narrowed down to two finalists in Ontario. Both #Ignace and #WabigoonLakeOjibwayNation in northern Ontario decided to move ahead, while the 'yes' side narrowly won in a referendum in the Municipality of South Bruce.

"But nearby #SaugeenOjibwayNation had not made a decision, and the #NWMO had a timeline of selecting a site by the end of this year.

"'We've been working with Saugeen Ojibway Nation for many years, and despite our best efforts, we did not see a path forward where Saugeen would be in a position to determine their willingness in the short, probably the mid-term,' Swami said.

"Chief Clayton Wetelainen of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation said his community's role as the potential host for Canada’s used nuclear fuel is one of the most important responsibilities of our time.

"'We can not ignore this challenge and allow it to become a burden for future generations,' he wrote in a statement.

"The First Nation will ensure that its role as guardians of the land and water remains central to the decision-making process, Wetelainen and the council said, and the project can only continue if it can be proven to be built safely, with respect to the environment and in a way that protects Anishinaabe values.

"But #GrassyNarrowsFirstNation, also in northwestern Ontario, is upset with the decision. Grassy Narrows is grappling with generations of #MercuryPoisoning after a mill in Dryden dumped 9,000 kilograms of the substance into the English-Wabigoon River system in the 1960s.

"'This decision puts the people of Grassy Narrows in grave danger,' Joseph Fobister, Grassy Narrows' land protection team lead, said in a statement.

"'The transport of extremely dangerous nuclear waste and its disposal within our #watershed will do irreparable destruction to our lands, rivers, and our way of life, which have already been damaged by so many harmful decisions imposed on us.'"

https://www.burnabynow.com/indigenous-news/northern-ontario-site-selected-for-nuclear-waste-underground-repository-9877055
#NuclearWaste #Canada #FirstNations