Northwestern Ontario has been chosen for Canada’s first deep geological repository, a multibillion-dollar project that aims to eventually store the country’s nuclear waste.
In an announcement Thursday morning, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) said Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON) and the township of Ignace will be the host communities for the repository. The other Ontario area in the running was northwest of London.
The site selection process began in 2010 and stirred heated debate, including in the two communities in the running for the permanent repository. The project has faced backlash from a number of environmental organizations, as well as a coalition of a dozen First Nations from northern Ontario.
After more than a decade of engagement with potential hosts, the NWMO narrowed down the choice to:
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The Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation-Ignace area, about 250 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.
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The Saugeen Ojibway Nation-South Bruce area in southern Ontario, about 130 kilometres northwest of London.
“After extensive technical study and community engagement, the NWMO selected a site that is safe and where the host communities have demonstrated that they understand the project and support making it part of their community,” the NWMO said in a news release.
Both Ignace and WLON held community votes on whether they should host the repository. In Ignace, 77 per cent of respondents who voted said yes, while the majority of residents in WLON agreed with them (the exact results of the vote have not been made public).
In South Bruce, 51.2 per cent of residents who voted were in favour of being a host community.
“This is a historic moment,” Laurie Swami, NWMO president and chief executive officer, said in a news release about . “This project will solve an environmental issue and supports Canada’s climate change goals. And today’s decision was driven by a consent-based siting process led by Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. This is what making history looks like.”
Project faces regulatory assessment
The NWMO, which was founded in 2002, says the $26-billion project will create hundreds of jobs.
“We are honoured, we are humbled and we are so proud to be part of the the first communities, alongside our First Nation partners — Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation — to have been selected by the NWMO to host the DGR (deep geological repository) project in this area,” Ignace’s Mayor Kim Baigrie in a news release.
Members of We the Nuclear Free North hold a rally outside Thunder Bay city hall in October 2023. The selection process for the deep geological repository was years in the making and faces backlash from some groups, community members and First Nations. (Sarah Law/CBC)
In a statement Thursday, Chief Clayton Wetelainen of WLON said “we look forward to continuing to work closely as this project enters the regulatory assessment phase.”
“WLON views our role as the potential host for Canada’s used nuclear fuel as one of the most important responsibilities of our time. We can not ignore this challenge and allow it to become a burden for future generations,” Wetelainen said. “Our membership spoke with a clear voice in our willingness decision that we have the bravery and courage to continue to the next phase of this project.”
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Some of the main concerns include the waste’s transportation, the integrity of the storage containers, the safety of employees transporting the waste and working at the repository, and the environmental impact.
A project of this size and enormity must be subject to full scrutiny. – Brennain Lloyd, Northwatch project co-ordinator
Brennain Lloyd is project co-ordinator with Northwatch and a volunteer with We the Nuclear Free North, two organizations that have held rallies against the project for years.
She said the site decision is disappointing, but not surprising.
“NWMO, I assume, made a political assessment and they determined that there was a lower level of political risk to the site in northern Ontario than the site in southern Ontario,” Lloyd said. “They must have earlier determined that there was less political risk to a deep geological repository concept than there was to what would be a more responsible option, which would be making the waste more secure at the reactor station where it’s currently housed.”
While transportation remains her top concern, she and other anti-nuclear advocates are also worried about contamination in the air and water at the processing facility, and potential leaks into the groundwater at the storage site.
Construction on the repository isn’t expected to begin until the mid-2030s, with the goal of getting the site operational in the early 2040s, the NWMO has told CBC News.
Jonathan Wilkinson, federal minister of energy and natural resources, expressed “deep gratitude” to the communities that were engaged throughout the site selection process.
“Thanks to our commitment to health and safety, Canadian nuclear energy will continue to power communities at home and allies around the world, providing Canadians jobs and opportunities for generations,” Wilkinson said.
At the provincial level, Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s minister of energy and electrification, thanked leaders in Ignace and WLON for their willingness to host the site.
“As our government expands our zero-emissions nuclear fleet to meet rising energy demand, Ontario is cementing its position as a world leader in all parts of the nuclear lifecycle. This achievement by NWMO is just the latest example,” Lecce said.
Next steps for the project
A number of approvals are needed before construction can begin. At this point, the project has entered step 7 of 9 outlined on the NWMO’s website: the regulatory review and approval process.
The NWMO has agreed to an Indigenous-led RAAP (Regulatory Assessment and Approval Process), designed by WLON, “to ensure that potential impacts of the project are assessed against WLON’s Anishinaabe Values, and that conditions to mitigate any impacts are designed by WLON and complied with by the NWMO.”
As well, “the project will enter the rigorous regulatory decision-making process that will ensure that the NWMO’s understanding of the safety of the repository is independently confirmed, by both the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and through the Government of Canada’s impact assessment process,” the NWMO says.
Lloyd said those opposed to the project will be paying close attention to the regulatory process to ensure decision makers are held accountable.
“I think that it’s important that people who are concerned and opposed to this project don’t accept this as the final outcome,” she said. “A project of this size and enormity must be subject to full scrutiny.”