THUNDER BAY — Nuclear Free Thunder Bay says the results of a recent survey of municipal election candidates show that nuclear waste disposal is an issue the next city council will be concerned about.
The group opposes the transportation and burial of used nuclear fuel in Northwestern Ontario.
It sent Thunder Bay candidates a two-part questionnaire about their views on the issue, asking:
- Do you oppose the transport of nuclear waste through the city of Thunder Bay?
- Do you support the request to city council (deputation of Sept. 12, 2022) to ask that the Ontario government adopt the Proximity Principle, which directs that waste should be managed as close to the point of generation as is technically feasible?
Of the 56 candidates for mayor and council, 36 provided responses.
Of those, 22 responded "yes" to both questions, while the remainder were undecided on either one or both of the questions.
Nuclear Free Thunder Bay is a group of concerned individuals and part of the We the Nuclear Free North alliance.
It opposes the Nuclear Waste Management Organization's proposal to bury used nuclear fuel in a deep geological repository between Ignace and Dryden.
The group favours storing the material close to the nuclear reactors where it was used, but not adjacent to the Great Lakes.
Spokesperson Charles Faust said they're looking forward to engaging with the next city council, and feel the candidates' responses "indicate the issue of nuclear waste transportation and burial is going to be a matter of shared concern" during the upcoming term.
The organization made responses available on its website.
The group made a deputation to council last month asking that it lobby the Ontario government to adopt the Proximity Principle.
Council referred the matter to the intergovernmental affairs committee, with the expectation that a recommendation would be returned in 2023.
