Dear Editor,
Both as Pontiac’s MP and as an environmental lawyer, I care passionately about protecting the Ottawa River and about ensuring open and transparent processes to evaluate any project proposal. Keeping our river clean will always be the top priority.
In relation to the assessment of CNL’s proposal to clean up the legacy nuclear waste situated at Chalk River, I remain focused on protecting our river. We have no choice but to achieve world-class management of the radioactive liability this site currently represents. To help achieve this protection, I have actively engaged people across the Pontiac, meeting with cottagers and environmental groups, mayors and councillors, Indigenous communities, and Canada’s independent and expert regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).
It is the CNSC – not politicians – that will review any project proposal. At this stage, no final proposal has been submitted, so we are not even at the point when public hearings can be organized and all views heard. But when this happens, the CNSC must, by federal law, respond to every single question and concern that is raised. That is why I am focused on building public engagement – because all perspectives and points of view across the Pontiac must be fully considered by the CNSC.
It is up to the CNSC to conduct an environmental assessment of the CNL proposal and to determine the risks associated with long-term storage of radioactive waste materials. The CNSC is a public body whose independent and expert public servants are mandated by federal law to analyze every public safety and environmental concern related to the nuclear industry. From flood and earthquake considerations, to terrorist threats and all manner of concerns about water quality, the CNSC will study the project proposal in light of comments from the public, industry, stakeholders, experts and others.
I will continue to follow the CNSC process closely, to help ensure that Pontiac constituents can effectively participate in the CNSC’s transparent public process that allows citizens to voice their opinions and preoccupations. Pursuant to applications for participant funding, groups such as Ottawa Riverkeeper, the Canadian Environmental Law Association, and Indigenous organizations, such as the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council have sought and obtained a portion of the more than $100,000 dedicated to ensure that technical evidence may be advanced by non-governmental entities. I will continue to advocate for enhanced funding for groups seeking to engage in this important process.
Will Amos
MP for Pontiac
