South Bruce, Ont. residents push back against nuclear waste referendum

A group of Teeswater, Ont.-area residents have been calling for a public referendum to decide whether the community should permanently house Canada’s most radioactive nuclear waste.

They got their wish this week when South Bruce council approved a public referendum on the divisive issue, but it's not all they'd hoped for.

“This decision should be made by the public, not six councillors. Although the councillors are elected to make different decisions, this is a major decision that’s going to affect our community and surrounding communities,” says the mayor of the Municipality of South Bruce, Robert Buckle.

But Protect our Waterways, the citizens' group that had been calling for a referendum via a community petition, wanted the public vote to be on next October’s municipal election ballot, not after, as currently planned.

“We were shocked at Protect our Waterways. The current council can’t commit a future council to a referendum. So basically, Tuesday’s vote was just council saying no to a referendum as part of the 2022 municipal election, and yes to them continuing to follow the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) process and plan,” says Protect our Waterways Chair Michelle Stein.

The NWMO is currently seeking a home for Canada’s highest-level nuclear waste -- 5.5 million used nuclear fuel bundles worth.

The $23-billion project requires over 1,500 acres to store the waste underground. Over 40 NWMO studies are underway to see if the area would make a suitable host.

“These studies won’t be done in time for next year’s municipal election, so I’m afraid we have to put the referendum off until all that stuff is done, which will be the middle of 2023, or near the end of 2023,” says Buckle.

Another South Bruce citizen’s group, called Willing to Listen, calls the public referendum a reasonable compromise given the polarizing views on the project.

“I would really like to see something in tandem with a referendum, so people can qualify or quantify, their yes or no answer. For me, I don’t think I could ever even say yes, without it being a 'yes, and' or 'yes,if.' I don’t want to give that much power to a corporation, the NWMO or government,” says Willing to Listen Chair Sheila Whytock.

Ignace, Ont., the other community in the running to host the project, will decide “community willingness” through a council resolution.

The NWMO says they’ll decide between South Bruce and Ignace as the permanent home for Canada’s high-level nuclear waste by the end of 2023. The waste is currently stored at nuclear plants across the country.

While they await South Bruce’s decision, the NWMO says they will not move forward with the project without the approval of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, either. The proposed project site north of Teeswater lies within their traditional territory.