South Bruce council voted unanimously in favour of declaring the municipality a willing host of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization's (NWMO) deep geological repository at a special meeting Tuesday night.
Council upheld the results of a tight referendum, in which 51.2 per cent of votes (1,604 residents) were in favour of the project, and 48.8 per cent (1,526) were against.
The referendum is binding under the Municipal Elections Act, due to a 69 per cent turnout from eligible voters, far surpassing the 50 per cent threshold.
Despite calls for a recount by some, given the narrow 78-vote margin, no one on council intervened to request the recount.
In his remarks, Mayor Mark Goetz reiterated his appreciation for South Bruce voters, saying their were "record numbers" for participation. He said the municipality had two priorities moving forward.
"First is to bring South Bruce together as one. No matter how you voted, or if you voted at all, we are one community. We have a long history of helping our neighbours, being there for one another, giving back and volunteering: that I believe is one of our greatest strengths. We need to focus again on that unity," said Goetz.
"Our second priority is to continue to share information and be responsive. We will continue to study the potential impacts of the project, ensure that questions get answered, and provide factual information to all residents and ratepayers," he continued.
The Municipality will continue to share information with the community and prepare for next steps in the NWMO’s site selection process.
Both Ignace and South Bruce have declared themselves willing hosts for the project, but the local First Nations communities have yet to determine where they stand. Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation has stated it will have a decision in a few weeks. Saugeen Ojibway Nation said it is continuing to examine the potential impacts and benefits of the project through its own process, and has not established a timeline for when a hosting decision will be reached.
The NWMO has said it hopes to have a decision by the end of the year.
Regardless of what happens moving forward, because of South Bruce's willingness decision, it will receive a $4 million payment from the NWMO as outlined in the Hosting Agreement.