e-7247 (Natural resources and energy)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) approved the amendment to the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) license at Chalk River for the construction of a Near Surface Nuclear Disposal Facility (NSDF) without getting the free, prior, and informed consent to the consultation process of Kebaowek First Nation, as per United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and without properly following the Species at Risk Act;
• This NSDF would hold over 1 million cubic metres of nuclear waste - waste that could take approximately 300 years for the radioactivity to wear off, and would be built a mere 1.1 km from the Kichi Sibi (Ottawa River) - where 2 million people get their drinking water from;
• CNL has not proven that they considered all reasonable alternatives or justified why the chosen site was the best. CNL only looked at sites owned by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), without analyzing whether non-AECL land might offer advantages; and
• We should all be standing in solidarity with Kebaowek First Nation against this proposed NSDF on their land, as it poses a risk to the water, forests, animals and people.