The government should stop subsidies to nuclear energy
On Oct. 15, the federal government announced $20 million in funding to a private company, Oakville’s Terrestrial Energy, to develop a “small modular reactor” (SMR), which is an experimental small version of the aging reactors in Ontario.
SMRs would generate between two and 300 megawatts of power versus the several thousand megawatt capacity of each of the Ontario reactors. The purported application of SMRs would be to provide electricity to remote communities, as well as for oil and gas extraction, mining and other heavy industries far from the electricity grid.
SMRs are touted by Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Natural Resources, as essential in addressing climate change, although they will not be up and running for 10 years. This is far too late to address our climate emergency (bearing in mind nuclear projects are notorious for running many years late).
In addition, the government plans to exempt SMRs from federal environmental assessment legislation, which would preclude any public input or expert review.
Historically, nuclear energy projects go massively overbudget and have never been financially viable, eating up billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to the nuclear industry.
The recent injection of $20 million of taxpayers’ money to Terrestrial Energy is just the beginning of more hemorrhaging of public funds to private companies for a product that does not yet exist, that will do nothing to mitigate climate change, that will threaten the environmental health and safety of First Nations land and people, that will create toxic radioactive waste and that we do not need, as cheaper cleaner alternatives already exist.
Arecent University of British Columbia study concluded that energy produced by SMRs would cost up to 10 times the cost of energy produced by renewable energy. Every taxpayer dollar spent on this untested technology is a dollar not spent on improving existing energy alternatives, not to mention social programs, and other necessary funding, such as improved staffing in nursing homes and job creation for the millions of people now unemployed due to COVID-19.
Exposure to ionizing radiation can cause cancer and other disabling and potentially fatal diseases. Nuclear energy produces extremely hazardous radioactive waste for which there is no viable disposal method. SMRs will continue to accumulate this toxic waste on site, burdening generations for millennia, and creating a long-standing toxic legacy for the people and landscape in these remote areas.
This radioactive waste not only becomes an unspeakable burden to future generations, but creates a security threat because of the potential for nuclear proliferation using material derived from the spent fuel.
SMRs have no place in any plan to mitigate climate change. It is time that our government recognize this and stop funding the nuclear industry, for the sake of all Canadians, and for generations to come.