Nuclear waste decision delayed until 2024
Lise Morton, vice president of site selection for the Nuclear Management Organization (NWMO), says the lack of face to face to communication caused by the pandemic, is the reason it has pushed a deadline to find a home for Canada’s high level nuclear waste, from the end of next year, to the fall of 2024.
“When you think of this project in terms of being a multi year, multi generational, multi decade project, this is really just a small adjustment in time. It’s really just a few months,” she says, from the NWMO’s office in Teeswater.
The NWMO has spent the past decade trying to find a community interested in storing Canada’s most radioactive waste in an underground facility, forever. The Municipality of South Bruce, north of Teeswater, and a site near Ignace, in Northern Ontario, are the final two communities in the running.
“The way I see it, the NWMO feels like they’re losing, and they just want to add some extra innings to the game,” says Michelle Stein, who lives near the proposed underground waste site.
Stein, who is leading a group of South Bruce citizens opposed to the project, believes a community referendum, as soon as possible, is the best way to finally determine the multi-billion project’s fate.
“What are we waiting for? The NWMO has been telling us for 10 years that this is a good idea, everything is safe. The only thing they don’t have yet, is the willing community, and that’s why they keep pushing this forward,” says the leader of No DGR-Nuclear Waste-South Bruce.
Proposed layout of underground storage facility for Canada’s high level nuclear waste (Source: Nuclear Waste Management Organization)
But for South Bruce residents who see more pros than cons with the $26 billion project, time is important.
“This is a forever project, and we should take as long as we need to make sure we make the right decision, whether that’s a yes or a no,” says Sheila Whytock, of Willing to Listen-South Bruce.
South Bruce’s current mayor Robert Buckle says he’d be in favour of a community referendum to decide the project’s fate, but a municipal election in October, could change that. The Saugeen Ojibway Nation, whose territory the proposed project falls within, must also approve the project for it to move forward.
“I don’t think we should be rushing this decision. I think it’s kind of irresponsible to do that, no matter which side of the debate you’re one. It’s a good idea, to take the time to do it right,” says Whytock.
Morton says the NWMO is confident it will find a permanent home for Canada’s high level nuclear waste, in South Bruce or Ignace, by the fall of 2024. Construction could start as early as 2033.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.