I support the plan of a deep geological repository in Northern Ontario

I have read some of the comments that have been submitted. Many refer to a lack of research. Many do not recognize that we have decades of spent nuclear fuel on hand now, stored in inadequate, temporary facilities, or that we will be generating more in the future. I have seen that there are many concerns about highway closures, and have even seen that a pair of geologists oppose the proposed plan.

The facts are simple and inescapable:

1) we need a long-term solution for dealing with spent nuclear fuel;

2) Ontario and Canada depend upon nuclear fuel now, and will continue to do so in the future - so even more spent nuclear fuel will be generated;

3) today's spent nuclear fuel may become a valuable resource in future, depending upon technological advances, so should not be made irrevocably inaccessible;

4) Highway 17 is already closed on a regular basis becuase of winter weather or traffic accidents (I know this only too well as a northern resident - and would argue that the highway needs to be upgraded regardless of whether it is used to transport spent nuclear fuel); and

5) the containers used to transport spent nuclear fuel have been engineered to be amazingly robust, and will withstand a train crashing into them at speed without rupturing (I've seen videos of this being tested).

As a geologist myself with more than 55 years' experience, and as someone who has: been underground in the Atomic Energy Commission's investigative mine at Whiteshell Mb; visited the research facilities at Pinewa Mb where work was already being done more than 40 years ago on finding solutions to the spent nuclear fuel problem; and followed the review of canadiate sites that led to the selection of the current site, I fully support the establishment of the proposed spent nuclear fuel facility in the preferred location.

Saying that we don't want spent nuclear fuel or a storage facility is just hiding our heads in the sand. We have the material, which is not being stored properly now. We will be generating more for many years to come. Decades of research has found that the proposed solution is the best option. Let's get on with it!