Grand Chief David Harper is under the gun for agreement

signed between Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization for a study of nuclear waste storage and its impacts on the region. The Swampy Cree Tribal Council chided Harper for signing the agreement without their knowledge and confirmed their collective moratorium against nuclear energy and storage within Cree territory. “This moratorium follows previous resolutions against nuclear energy and storage passed at a Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Chiefs Assembly in Norway House in 2014. The majority of chiefs at the assembly passed MKO Resolutions #2014-0702, which specifically opposed nuclear storage in Manitoba.” Harper said the agreement is only for educational purposes. “Even if we don’t accept the money, we are still going to do the education project. We have to.” Harper said a potential nuclear waste storage site in Ignace, Ont. may affect Manitoba lakes and rivers. “We need to know the extent. That is all we’re looking for. We’ve never said we approve nuclear waste storage facilities, and we won’t say that.”