In the town of Deep River, Ontario, the hands of the atomic clock are ticking. Located on its territory, very close by, more than a million tons of nuclear waste lie dormant, waiting to be buried a kilometer from the Ottawa River. Seven months after the Canadian Nuclear Safety Tribunal gave the project the green light, local residents are tearing each other apart. Second of three texts.
Last month, Justin Roy, a band councillor for the Anishinaabe community of Kebaowek, travelled by river to the site of the proposed Chalk River nuclear waste disposal site. “It may not mean much, but we were there on the water and a beautiful bald eagle came and landed on a tree right next to us,” he said.
“You can call it a coincidence, you can call it a sign… I don’t know, but, to me, it was kind of like he was saying ‘thank you for everything you do.'”
Sitting at a table in the Kebaowek marina, Justin Roy, who is also the economic development director for the Anishinaabe community of western Quebec, points to the immense Lake Kipawa, which sparkles in the rays of the morning sun. Further on, past the dam, he describes, its water flows into the Ottawa River and then downhill toward the east.
For the Anishinaabe, the river, Kichi Sibi, in Algonquin, is the “living force” of the territory. It was therefore with amazement that they learned, nine years ago now, that a nuclear waste disposal site would soon be installed nearby, very close to the Chalk River nuclear laboratories.
Along with other Anishinaabe communities in Quebec, Kebaowek has undertaken in recent years to publicly contest the project led by the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). Only one Algonquin community, that of Pikwàkanagàn, in Ontario, has given its approval to the near-surface waste management facility (FSWM), which is to be located one kilometre from the Ottawa River.
“It’s a 37-hectare mound. Here in Kebaowek, we occupy 54 hectares of land. So, you have to imagine this mound of waste that would make up two thirds of our community,” illustrates Justin Roy.
The winding path to Kebaowek is lined with turtles, foxes and small rodents. On a pink and blue road sign, next to a drawing of a canoe, you can read the words: “Let’s protect the Kichi Sibi ” and “IGDPS is not the solution”. Another placard, signed LNC, reads: “IGDPS is the best solution”.
“A voice for those who have none”
Located nearly 200 kilometres north of the Chalk River laboratories, Kebaowek is nonetheless concerned. First, the IGDPS must be built on the ancestral territory of the Algonquin nation. But above all, its construction could have irreversible consequences on local fauna and flora, argues Mr. Roy.
Over the years, the community has inventoried several species of bats, turtles and black bears in the area. Eastern wolves, a species threatened with extinction under the Species at Risk Act, have also been detected not far from the Chalk River laboratories.
Earlier this year, Kebaowek took steps in Federal Court to challenge the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) decision to grant CNL the right to build its nuclear waste site. An opportunity, according to Justin Roy, to be “guardians” of the land, “a voice for those who don’t have one.”
“A bear can’t go to a hearing and say, ‘Look out, I live here,'” he illustrates.
Federal Court Justice Julie L. Blackhawk said she wanted to “take her time” before making her decision on the IGDPS. If she rules in Kebaowek’s favour, she could force the CNSC to reconsider its decision. It said the CNL project “is designed to protect human health and the environment.”