Brett Thoms
Bryson April 20, 2022
At Wednesday’s public meeting of the MRC, the mayors of the MRC Pontiac were each given the opportunity to air their positions on the near surface disposal facility at Chalk River.
Each mayor was asked yes or no if they were in favour of the site. They were also given the chance to elaborate on . . .
their position if they wished.
Here’s what each mayor said.
Odette Godin, mayor of Waltham: “I do not support it, it has to be further back. We depend on our water for everything.
Bill McCleary, mayor of Shawville: “I don’t think we should be a dumping ground for nuclear waste. We need to make sure it is far enough from the river so it can be, well, I wouldn’t call it safe, but safer.”
Lynn Cameron, mayor of Portage du Fort: “I’m against it, when you can see the river, it’s too close.”
Karen Daly-Kelly mayor of Thorne: “I’m totally against it. They should put it someplace innocuous, away from people, ground water and especially the flowing water.”
Jean-Louis Corriveau, mayor of Île du Grand Calumet: “Not in favour of it at all.”
Carl Mayer, mayor of Alleyn et Cawood: “Not in favour at all, it’s too close to the water. “
Colleen Larivière, mayor of Litchfield: I think it’s way too close. There are a lot of questions. It’s not going to affect us, it’s going to affect our children and our grandchildren and the generations to come. We are the ones who have to try and put a halt to it.”
Terry Lafleur, mayor of Otter Lake: “I’m definitely opposed to it, we have at least 13 of our 18 municipalities that border the river. It’s our lifeline. It’s our identity as an MRC. We have to at least implore the feds, the CNL, and the province to get some kind of agreement together. Because it’s not a question of if, it’s when it leaks in to the river.”
Alain Gagnon, mayor of Bryson: “As nice as their plan seems, there’s nothing foolproof. So, push it back as far as possible.”
Maurice Beauregard, mayor of Campbell’s Bay: “Being born and raised in a riverfront town, and recently being diagnosed with cancer, I want it sent as far away as it can be.”
Sandra Armstrong, mayor of Mansfield et Pontefract and pro-warden of the MRC “I do not support it all, I’m against it.”
Edward Walsh, mayor of Clarendon: “I’m a great outdoors person and I enjoy being on the river. The farther away from the waters it can go the better.”
Brent Orr, mayor of Bristol: “We got 16 plus km of waterfront that can be in danger, so I’m definitely against it.”
Doris Ranger, mayor of Sheenboro: “We certainly depend on the river for tourism and drinking water. But like I say I’m not a scientist and I should hope whoever is behind this is going to protect our river.”
Donald Gagnon mayor of Chichester: “One of my biggest worries is bringing material in from other sites. I know they are tearing down buildings that’s low level but when they start bringing it in from other locations I’m really against it. “
Corey Spence, mayor of Isle aux Allumettes: “CNL themselves have brought many jobs to the area and we appreciate that. However, when it comes to the storage of this type of stuff so close we need to make sure every option has been exhausted before it gets there and it’s ot there yet.”
Christine Francoeur, mayor of Fort-Coulonge “I’m totally against it, it’s way too close for comfort.”
Doug Rousselle mayor of Rapides des Joachims: “I’d like it to move back from the water.”
Once the meeting was finished, Warden Jane Toller said she was proud of the transparency demonstrated at the meeting and expressed her own concerns about the proposed dump site.
“We were never consulted about this project and we are the closest MRC,” said Toller. “We’ve been told by CISSSO that the health of the MRC Pontiac is the worst in all of Quebec.
You can’t necessarily draw a conclusion, but we do have high rates of cancer here.”
Toller said she thought she got everyone fired up for the upcoming public forum the MRC hosted on April 26.
