Nuclear waste decision on hold

BUNKER DECISION LIKELY TO FALL TO NEXT FEDERAL GOV’T

The much-delayed and politically fraught decision on a proposed multibillion-dollar nuclear-waste storage bunker near Lake Huron now appears certain to fall to Canada’s next government.

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna paused the process in August 2017 — the latest in a string of delays for the deep geologic repository — to ensure buy-in from Indigenous people in the area. However, members of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation have made it clear they are in no rush to give Ontario Power Generation their blessing for the proposed facility.

“Both parties have committed to getting toward a decision, ideally this year, but there’s a lot of work to make sure that happens,” Randall Kahgee, a lawyer and lead adviser to the First Nations on the file, said in an interview.

During community meetings in recent months, a basic “Nuclear 101” was offered. The result, Kahgee said, is that people have begun asking pointed questions about the project that Ontario’s publicly owned utility will have to answer.

About two dozen sessions are planned for the coming months to allow Ontario Power Generation to explain why it believes the repository is the best way to go. A “period of reflection” will follow those sessions leading to a community decision, perhaps by the end of this year, Kahgee said.

A key step is to decide how Saugeen Ojibway Nation gets to express its collective will, who in the community gets to have a say, and when. That includes deciding the role of young people, who must ultimately help implement whatever decision the community makes.

McKenna had no comment but the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency called it important that Ontario Power Generation has the flexibility to engage with Indigenous peoples.

“Any decision that is made will be based on science and Indigenous knowledge,” said agency spokeswoman Lucille Jamault.