A number of concerned citizens took to the highway in a walk to protest a proposed underground nuclear storage facility in northwestern Ontario.
It is the fifth consecutive year for the Walk Against Nuclear Waste, which took place over the Labour Day weekend, as citizen groups continue their fight to prevent the $26-billion dollar project from being built between Dryden and Ignace.
“The Ojibways of Saugeen #258 have spoken – by Band Council Resolution we have stated that we stand firm against the storage of nuclear waste in Treaty #3 territory and do not give our consent to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s nuclear waste project,” said walk spokesperson Darlene Necan, in remarks just before the walk commenced.
The prosed site is just south of Highway 17 where it runs parallel to the Revell River.
Residents in Ignace voted strongly in favour of moving forward with the project, but the Wabigoon First Nation has yet to hold a similar vote.
Wabigoon’s vote is necessary in order for it to move ahead but it also has not signed a hosting agreement with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).
The NWMO is expected to decide where to build the project by the end of the year.
South Bruce is also being considered as the only other location.
