MPs, activists oppose licensing hearings on proposed nuclear dump

MPs, activists oppose licensing hearings on proposed nuclear dump

Several politicians and numerous activist groups on both sides of the river have signed a declaration denouncing the proposed “near surface disposal facility” (NSDF) at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ site in Chalk River.

The proposed site would house up to a million cubic metres of low-level nuclear waste, with the majority coming from existing liabilities on the Chalk River property, but also waste transported from other facilities across the country. The next step in the approval process for the NSDF are licensing hearings with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on February 22 and March 21.

“We oppose the holding of licensing hearings for the construction of a Near Surface Disposal Facility for nuclear waste at Chalk River, Ontario, on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabeg lands alongside the Ottawa River,” reads the statement issued by the Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area, which was signed by Green Party Parliamentary Leader Elizabeth May, Bloc Québécois MP Monique Pauzé and the NDP’s Environment and Climate Change critic, Laurel Collins.

In a French-language interview with CHIP 101.9, Pauzé, who represents the riding of Repentigny, said that she would like to see a report by the environment commissioner on the project before the CNSC hearings move forward.

“The parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development has just begun a ‘comprehensive review of the governance of nuclear waste in Canada and its impacts on the environment.’ An audit on nuclear waste management is currently underway by the Auditor General of Canada. We call for both processes to be completed before any licensing hearings for nuclear waste disposal facilities,” the statement reads.

Pauzé said that every effort should be made to stop the licensing process.

The full interview with Pauzé is available here.