The First Nations of the North Shore Tribal Council...

The First Nations of the North Shore Tribal Council in Cutler, Ont. say they strongly reject the prospect of the North Shore of Lake Huron becoming a site for the long-term storage of nuclear waste for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). The City of Elliot Lake has publicly expressed interest in possibly becoming one of the sites for the long-term disposal of nuclear waste for Canada’s nuclear industry. Elliot Lake has a long history of uranium mining, resulting in significant and lasting environmental damage to the local watershed and nearby ceremonial grounds, the tribal council says. There are also dozens of tailings ponds surrounding Elliot Lake currently waiting for a solution for their safe disposal. “We cannot idly stand by and watch as they inject Mother Earth with this cancer,” said Chief Lyle Sayers, chair of the tribal council. “We must ensure that the future natural resources of this area are there for our children, generations to come, and businesses alike.” The half-life of this material is hundreds of thousands of years and could impact generation after generation, reads a press statement from the tribal council. No site, says the release, can ever be totally safe for nuclear waste storage. “Natural disasters sometimes happen, such as we’ve seen in Japan. It could make this whole area a nuclear wasteland suitable for only that industry,” said Sayers. Our statement to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization is: Do not waste your financial resources if you plan to conduct a study in this area because a nuclear waste dump is not going to happen here. The North Shore Tribal Council represents seven First Nation communities across the North Shore of Lake Huron.