People & Culture
A prayer not a protest
The South Saskatchewan River is under unprecedented pressure. Now, a major irrigation project is set to expand.
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Protesters recently gathered outside the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa to support the legal battle between Kebaowek First Nations and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories over the planned development of a radioactive waste dump near the Kichi Sibi (Ottawa River).
The remnants of Hurricane Beryl moved through the region on July 10, 2024, as the crowd, donning ponchos and colourful umbrellas, gathered under the protection of the Supreme Court’s tree line to sing and signify their concerns over the “near surface disposal facility” (NSDF) plans in Chalk River, Ont.
Built in 1945, Chalk River’s Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), located on the Ottawa River shoreline about 200 kilometres upstream of the nation’s capital, was the country’s first reactor. Designed ostensibly for peaceful research, the National Research Experimental (NRX) reactor produced nuclear products for military and research operations (the learnings gained from the NRX reactor were later used to build another reactor known as the National Research Universal reactor). But the facility has had a checkered history and faced opposition from both Indigenous and settler residents due to its construction on unceded Algonquin territory and its history of incidents and spills during its 73 years in operation.
In 2016, CNL proposed that the near surface disposal facility be built to contain legacy waste, especially after the NRU reactor was slated to be permanently shut down in 2018. The federal government approved the plan for the dump in January 2024. The facility to contain this legacy nuclear waste would be “specifically designed” to contain the radioactive waste material and withstand any risks (events that might include major storms or earthquakes) until the radiation levels are stable (nuclear half-life can last from seconds to thousands of years).
A Commission statement read: “The Commission was satisfied [the CNL] had fulfilled its constitutional responsibility to consult and, where appropriate, accommodate Indigenous rights in respect of its decision making on the NSDF Project.”
The Commission’s statement did not sit well with a number of Indigenous communities that have been steadfastly opposed to the construction of a waste facility on the water’s edge.
The Chief of the Kebaowek First Nations responded in a press release, “I would like to be very clear: the Algonquin Peoples did not consent to the construction of this radioactive waste dump on our unceded territory. We believe that consultation has been inadequate, to say the least, and that our Indigenous rights are being threatened by this proposal.”
The legal challenge made its way to the Supreme Court on July 10, which is when the rally took place.
“Get this off our land. It is not just affecting Mother Earth; it’s affecting the animals and the people,” said Lois Tepiscum, a Kabeowek resident, as she handed out cookies.
Organizers made the rounds of supporters and drew in passersby to educate them about what protesters believe is at stake.
“They’ve put it on the site because that’s the most convenient. But we think there should have been a proper siting process and keep it away from the Ottawa River,” said Eva Schacherl, a Council of Canadians Ottawa chapter member.
Schacherl expressed concern with the facility’s radioactivity reaching the closest body of water — Perch Lake, which connects to Kichi Sibi. “It is an earthquake-prone zone. And then you can think about tornadoes and other extreme weather events that are increasing. There are so many issues around storing this above ground.”
“I realize it has to be placed somewhere, but I don’t think that’s a good place — close to the river.”
Although the protesters’ main concern was focused on the possibility of a leak contaminating the water supply, Schacherl also mentioned the environmental damage the construction of the facility would cause: “Thirty-seven hectares of old-growth forest, clear cut, which affects the habitat for eastern wolves, bears, moose and deer.”
Jeannie Tenasco, a Kitigan Zibi First Nation member (Kitigan Zibi is situated at the confluence of the Désert and Gatineau Rivers) noted that she has experienced radiation in waterways and fears what might happen if the dump leaks. In 1994, a chemical analysis was conducted on Kitigan Zibi’s groundwater, resulting in a no-consumption advisory in 1999 due to the unsafe levels of uranium and radium. The water remains unsafe to drink in areas of the Algonquin nation.
Tenasco fears the placement of the facility is risky given the tremors and earthquakes she has felt throughout her life. “I realize it has to be placed somewhere, but I don’t think that’s a good place — close to the river,” said Tenasco, fearing a spill would create long-term dangers for both people and animals relying on the river.
Kumar Sundaram, a nuclear researcher and editor at DiaNuke.org, came to support the rally with Stockholm postdoctoral researcher in political sciences, Sonali Huria.
“As a nuclear researcher, I’ve travelled to Fukushima and several other places where there is a cycle of violence over Indigenous communities and local communities. It destroys the connection that people, space, place, water and the air have. The entire connection between what we call nature or animals, non-humans and humans and society and democracy, has always been destroyed through nuclear technology,” said Sundaram.
“There’s absolutely no safe, credible way of disposing of nuclear waste when it comes to nuclear waste; we have to keep in mind that it has a temporality of thousands of years. No design and no facility can sustain for that long…”
Huria summed up the feelings of many in her appeal to the Supreme Court: “I would honestly hope that the Court would consider polluting a river as playing with human and non-human lives. It is polluting an entire ecosystem. And we have to think of a longer-term temporality because that is what nuclear does, right? There are radioactive elements that remain radioactive for thousands of years. I hope the Supreme Court of Canada regards this as its supreme responsibility. It’s not just for the present generations, but for many years into the future.”
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