WHAT WE DO
As a group of Indigenous leaders, local community members, and allies who research issues related to nuclear waste from technical and political perspectives, we work to hold the government and nuclear industry accountable for the waste they create. We analyse and provide data on the cumulative impacts that communities are confronted with along each step of the nuclear fuel chain.
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THE ISSUE
STRONGER TOGETHER, our network is concerned about the proximity of the proposed near surface disposal facility (NSDF) radioactive waste infrastructure to the Ottawa River (Kichi Sibi). The river is situated on a fault line that may be triggered at any time, and possibly even greater risks of tritium overflow events given the impacts of climate change. We are concerned about the cumulative impacts to land, water, and wildlife that the NSDF could bring, through its construction, maintenance, and operation. Chalk River Laboratories has historically caused environmental disasters, and we are not confident that their decision making is based on the well-being of the Ottawa River watershed and all its inhabitants.
Our Demands Clarified in the NSDF Proposal
Restructure the Nuclear Industry
UNDRIP (2007) Right to the Protection of the Environment
Article 29
We demand that regulators and industry respect the contention and opposition involved in siting nuclear waste alongside the Ottawa River (Kichi Sibi) watershed before continuing to invest taxpayer dollars into an unsustainable industry. The work represented in the NSDF proposal is unsustainable ecologically and economically.
We recognize the tone of regulatory capture that persists within the nuclear industry and its regulators, and we call for a restructuring of the system. We ask first and foremost for recognition of Indigenous laws enshrined in the Canadian constitution and other legal framing such as the UNDRIP (2007) which Canada claims it has adapted. We demand respect for section 35 rights and the application of relevant UNDRIP articles.
1.Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources. States shall establish and implement assistance programmes for indigenous peoples for such conservation and protection, without discrimination.
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2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed consent.
3. States shall also take effective measures to ensure, as needed, that programmes for monitoring, maintaining and restoring the health of indigenous peoples, as developed and implemented by the peoples affected by such materials, are duly implemented.
Free, Prior an Informed Consent (FPIC)
Canada has taken many steps to suggest it wishes to move toward reconciliation. In order to do so, the nuclear industry must respect the legal principle that it must obtain the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of all Indigenous nations affected by settler infrastructures.
Marine and Wildlife Protection
The nuclear industry on the Ottawa River has never obtained the FPIC of Algonquin-Anishinabeg Nation and the history of this site shows that radioactive residues and wastes will last far beyond seven generations, as evidenced by sick animals and other impacts documented and researched by Algonquin communities for the NSDF Assessment.
