Nuclear waste transportation MUST be explicitly included within scope of project assessment

To the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada,

I am writing to formally request that the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada require a full federal impact assessment of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) proposed high-level radioactive waste project west of Ignace, Ontario.

This project involves the disposal of Canada’s most long-lived and hazardous radioactive waste and raises profound concerns related to public safety, Indigenous rights, environmental protection, and environmental justice. Given the scale, duration, and irreversible risks associated with this proposal, a comprehensive federal impact assessment is not only warranted, but essential.

First, I urge the Agency to require that nuclear waste transportation be explicitly included within the scope of the project assessment. The nuclear industry’s attempt to exclude transportation from review would remove accident risks, routing decisions, and emergency preparedness from public scrutiny. This exclusion would deny hundreds of communities along potential transportation corridors any meaningful opportunity to understand, evaluate, or influence decisions about risks they may face. Transportation is an integral component of the project and must be assessed as such.

Second, the proposed project raises serious concerns regarding Indigenous rights. The plan to site a deep geological repository in Northwestern Ontario ignores the rights, laws, and responsibilities of Indigenous Nations, including those whose territories and waters lie downstream from the proposed site. Canada has clear obligations to uphold Indigenous rights, including the requirement for free, prior, and informed consent as recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and affirmed under Canadian law. Any assessment process must fully respect these obligations and ensure Indigenous Nations are decision-makers, not merely stakeholders.

Third, the project raises critical environmental justice concerns. Communities along proposed transportation routes and downstream from the site would bear disproportionate risks while receiving no corresponding benefits. These communities have the right to be informed, to participate meaningfully in decision-making, and to have their concerns addressed before irreversible decisions are made.

For these reasons, I respectfully call on the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada to:

• Require a full federal impact assessment of the NWMO’s proposed nuclear waste project;

• Include nuclear waste transportation routes, risks, and emergency preparedness within the project scope;

• Protect Indigenous rights, including free, prior, and informed consent obligations as required under UNDRIP and Canadian law; and

• Uphold environmental justice by ensuring impacted communities along proposed routes are informed and have a meaningful say.

Decisions regarding the long-term management of high-level radioactive waste will have consequences lasting far beyond our lifetimes. They demand the highest level of transparency, accountability, and public participation.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely
 

H Wright