February 10, 2016
1715
Dear Catherine McKenna, minister of the environment and climate change:
In appointing you to the post of minister of the environment and climate change, the prime minister of Canada clearly defined your mandate and his expectations. In light of his statements in that letter, I am asking you to live up to his expectation and reject the Joint Review Panel (JRP) report on Ontario Power Generation (OPG)'s application to construct a nuclear waste dump within one kilometre of the shore of Lake Huron.
In his letter to you, the prime minister said his government has committed to set a higher bar for openness and transparency in government. The process used by OPG leading up to the application for this project could not be considered open or transparent. OPG worked with municipal leaders in what has subsequently been declared illegal closed-door meetings.
"Canadians expect us, in our work, to reflect the values we all embrace: honesty, inclusion, hard work, fiscal prudence, and generosity of spirit," the prime minister wrote in his letter to you. During the illegal closed-door meetings leading up to OPG's application for this project, a senior employee of the Government of Canada, acting in his capacity as a regulatory official of the nuclear industry, was in attendance and expressed enthusiastic support for the project. This happened well before OPG had submitted its application for the project. Hopefully, this prejudice does not reflect the values of your government.
The prime minister expects you "to help restore Canada's reputation for environmental stewardship." He also asks you to "treat our freshwater as a precious resource that deserves protection and careful stewardship." Approval of the JRP report is incompatible with these requests. With more than 10 million square kilometers of territory at its disposal, how could the Government of Canada even consider dumping some 200,000 cubic metres of nuclear waste that will remain radioactive for 100,000 years, on the shoreline of the largest body of freshwater in the world? How will that enhance our reputation for environmental stewardship? Is that the type of protection your government believes our precious freshwater resources deserve?
The prime minister, in his letter, asks you to immediately review Canada's Environmental Assessment processes to regain public trust and to restore robust oversight and thorough Environmental Assessments of areas under federal jurisdiction. An independent organization has asked the Federal Court of Canada to quash the report on the grounds that OPG has ignored important aspects of Canada's Environmental Assessment laws and processes.
The prime minister has asked you to ensure that decisions are based on science, facts, and evidence, and serve the public's interest. OPG, using computer models, claims the radioactive waste in the dump will remain safe for 100,000 years. In light of the demonstrated fact that every DGR in the world has failed, it is preposterous that OPG and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) would claim that their 'scientific' models could show these plans to be 'safe.'
Most recently, an underground research laboratory being built in France, for the same purpose, and in the same geology OPG touts as 'safe', collapsed. As far as "serving the public interest," more than 180 municipalities lining the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence basin have passed resolutions opposing the project. More than 92,000 people have signed petitions opposing this project. As this dangerous threat to our water becomes more widely known, I am confident that number will grow to represent the 40-million people who rely on the Great Lakes for clean, safe drinking water.
Approving this project would mean approving the underhanded, if not nefarious, conduct of the proponents of this project. It would mean condoning their flagrant disregard for Canada's Environmental Assessment laws. It would mean ignoring the highly-biased and prejudicial behavior of a federal government employee charged with regulating the nuclear industry. It would mean needlessly putting at risk the largest body of fresh water in the world - the drinking water source for 40-million Canadians and Americans.
In making your decision on this proposal, I repeat the prime minister's sentiments in urging you to protect our precious fresh water resources. I urge you to ensure that project proponents comply with Canada's Environmental Laws. I urge you to conduct decision-making in an open and transparent manner. I urge you to reject the JRP report and end this dangerous threat to one of our most precious resources.
Sincerely,
Joanne Martin
Inverhuron
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