Brett Thoms
Pontiac July 11, 2022
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) announced last week that they are delaying any decision made on the proposed near surface disposal site (NSDF) in Deep River, Ont. in order to allow more time for “engagement and consultation with Kebaowek First Nation and the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg.”
According to a press release from the CNSC the Kebaowek First Nation, the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, CNL, and CNSC staff will have until January 31, 2023 to file additional information concerning the site.
“The Commission will await . . .
further information before making decisions in respect of the duty to consult, the environmental assessment, and the licence amendment application,” according to the press release.
The regulatory review process for the NSDF site began in 2016, and the most recent public consultations were held from May 30 to June 3, 2022, in Pembroke.
This decision comes after Indigenous intervenors at the recent public consultation complained that they were not seriously consulted about the location or the concept of the NSDF.
According to the UNDRIP, which Canada signed on to in a nonbinding fashion in 2021, the government is supposed to obtain the free, prior and informed consent on issues that may affect Indigenous peoples or their territory.
This augment is supported by the fact that historically, the territory that the NSDF will be built on was never ceded in a treaty to the crown of Canada, meaning Indigenous nations still have a claim to sovereignty over the territory.
As previously reported, the current position of the president of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, the crown corporation that both licences Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and that owns the location where the proposed NSDF would be situated is that “consultations does not necessary mean veto,” in regards to the consultative process with Indigenous groups.
07-13 CNSC
