THUNDER BAY – Editorial – Updated – Right now in communities across Northwestern Ontario there are public meetings being planned to discuss storing nuclear waste in our region. The communities of Wawa, Ignace, Nipigon, Schreiber and Ear Falls are some of the centres who are reportedly looking at holding meetings. One of the goals must be in making sure that all the facts are on the table, and also that residents in communities across Northwestern Ontario are fully away of the facts. That role must fall to the elected leaders in our communities, and our provincial and federal representatives too.
In Nipigon Mayor Richard Harvey states in emails to people contacting him, “As someone who expressed concern about the Possibility of Nuclear Waste in North Western Ontario I wanted to let you know that Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is planning an open house in Nipigon from 1-8 on Dec. 15th at the Nipigon Community Center”. Mayor Harvey has yet to take a public stand on the issue.
Thunder Bay Superior North MP Bruce Hyer is sharing, “As a global citizen, a father, and a resident of northwestern Ontario, I feel the following:
1) More future nuclear power plants are a bad direction to go as we search for alternatives to fossil fuels, due to soaring costs, no solution yet to the storage problems for tens of thousands of years, and risk (Murphy’s Law applies).
2) However, we have some waste now that must be dealt with. The waste disposal people say that most rock formations are suitable… including right at the nuclear plants where the wastes already are. When I have asked them why not bury it there, they respond that the people who got the plant, the jobs, and the power…. don’t want the waste. We don’t get virtually any nuclear-powered electricity here in northwestern Ontario.
3) I am especially worried about the transport, whether by truck on TransCanada highways, rail on shore of Lake Superior, or by ship on the Great Lakes.
My position as an MP?
1) If the “Community of Interest” wants to explore the possibilities, I as MP should act as an honest broker to facilitate a full two way exchange of information … and ultimately decision-making. My definition (not theirs) for a “Community of Interest” would be something like all communities within 200 or 300 km of a waste disposal site or transport corridor should have an equal say… not just one small community desperate for jobs.
3) I encourage all citizens of northwestern Ontario to get informed and get involved. While any actual shipping and disposal would not take place for many years, the information and planning and decision-making process has already started.”
You can help direct the path of this discussion, here are some contact addresses to assist you.
Bruce Hyer MP: bruce@brucehyer.ca.
Nipigon: richardharvey@nipigon.net; levinacollins@nipigon.net; louisedupuis@nipigon.net; gordonmackenzie@nipigon.net; jamesfoulds@nipigon.net
Red Rock Ontario: cao@shawbiz.ca; darkstarr17@hotmail.com; spark@redrocktownship.com; samsobush@hotmail.com; bgray@redrocktownship.com
Schreiber: lahuard@bell.net; ghkrause@sympatico.ca; mayor@schreiber.ca; pat_rosehalonen@hotmail.com; figliomeni7@sympatico.ca
The Municipality of Wawa
40 Broadway Avenue, P.O. Box 500
Wawa, ON P0S 1K0
Toll Free: 1-800-367-WAWA (9292)
Phone: 1-705-856-2244
Fax: 1-705-856-2120
Email: info@wawa.cc
The Corporation of the Township of Ignace Municipal Office
34 Highway 17 West P.O. Box 248
Ignace, ON, P0T 1T0
Phone: 807-934-2202 Fax: 807-934-2864
ecdev@tbaytel.net
Sault-Ste-Marie
mayor.amaroso@cityssm.on.ca
You can find out more online at www.nwmo.ca.