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OTTAWA — The Green Party of Canada, Green Party of Ontario and Green Party of Quebec are united in their objection to shipping nuclear waste through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River enroute to Sweden.
“The approval for shipping nuclear waste through our important waterways sets a dangerous precedent that we may come to regret,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada. “In this case, the drinking water of more than 40 million people is at risk, as well as all species dependent on that water.”
Claude Sabourin, Leader of the Green Party of Quebec, is outraged at the lack of transparency in the decision making process. “The public were not given any opportunity to scrutinize the plan to endanger our waterways. All we got were blasé reassurances that all will be well. Well, BP gave the same assurances about the oil spill and look where that has led.”
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has granted Bruce Power license to transport 16 decommissioned steam generators from south western Ontario to Sweden for recycling. Any radioactive metal that is not able to be recycled in Sweden will then be returned back to Canada. The Swedish company, Studsvik, would be solely responsible in the case of any accidental discharge of radioactive material.
“Federal and provincial governments have ignored the legitimate health and safety concerns raised by First Nations, municipalities and residents along the proposed route. It is clear that the government has no idea what the financial, health and environmental costs associated with nuclear waste are. It’s time for Ontario to take responsibility for nuclear waste in a way that is transparent and accountable to the public.”said Green Party of Ontario, Leader Mike Schreiner.
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Contact Information:
Debra Eindiguer
Press Secretary
Green Party of Canada
media@greenparty.ca
C : 613.240.8921
www.greenparty.ca