The Joint Chiefs and Councils of Saugeen Ojibway Nation are calling the Nuclear Waste Management Organization's (NWMO) decision to host a deep geological repository in the north, an historic victory for the First Nation.
SON was just beginning its pre-engagement process, a first step to determining the community's willingness to host the project, when the NWMO announced Thursday it would be locating the proposed used nuclear fuel storage facility in Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation.
"Our People and leaders have fought for decades for the right of free, prior, and informed consent to be recognized and upheld with respect to the disposal of radioactive waste. It is as a result of these efforts that consent was required as part of NWMO's site selection process. Our voices have been heard and respected - there will be no DG in SON Territory without our consent," read the joint statement from Chief Gregory Nadjiwon and Chief Conrad Ritchie.
The NWMO said it would have a decision on the hosting site by the end of 2024. Both Ignace and South Bruce determined themselves to be willing hosts of the project earlier this year, while Wabigoon Lake said it was willing to proceed with the site characterization process.
SON leadership seemed to be blindsided by this week's announcement, calling it extremely disappointing.
"We have always engaged with NWMO in good faith. Unfortunately, the manner in which NWMO has made its own decisions is extremely disappointing. NWMO made many commitments to work with us collaboratively to support our decision-making process in a full and respectful way. But it is clear NWMO continues to act unilaterally - making decisions behind closed doors and without regard for our governance process or good-faith partnership," said the statement.
Despite hosting discussions being over, the community engagement sessions with the Hunter-Courchene Group will proceed as scheduled.
"Our work, however, is not done. The reality is that SON's nuclear waste problems, including the current and growing storage of 45 per cent of Canada's used nuclear fuel waste, remain unresolved," read the joint Chiefs statement. "NWMO's current plan is to keep the used fuel waste in SON Territory for generations to come while it attempts to build a site in the North. NWMO and the rest of the nuclear industry have failed to recognize that this continued exploitation of SON Territory is unacceptable and will not stand."
The SON rejected a proposed DGR in its territory from Ontario Power Generation in 2020, and said it hoped to learn what worked from that process and what could be improved.
To learn more about the membership engagement sessions, visit the SON website.