A second Ontario municipality has formally decided it is willing to become the site of a deep geological repository for Canada’s nuclear waste.
The Municipality of South Bruce, located south of Owen Sound, held a referendum putting the question to its residents and the results released today show they voted 51 per cent in favour of the proposal.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization plans to select a site this year where millions of bundles of used nuclear fuel will be placed in a network of underground rooms connected by cavernous tunnels.
The process for the $26-billion project has already been narrowed down to two sites, Ignace in northern Ontario and South Bruce, and the organization has said both the local municipality and the First Nation in those areas will have to agree to be hosts.
Ignace, between Thunder Bay and Kenora, in July became the first community to make its decision known, as town council voted in favour of a nuclear waste repository at a special meeting.
Attention now will turn to Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation in northern Ontario and Saugeen Ojibway Nation, to see if they share the same willingness as Ignace and South Bruce.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.
The Canadian Press