The NWMO's Duty to Consult with Neighboring First Nations under the UNDRIP Act (2021)

My name is Jesslynn Friday and I am from Seine River First Nation, which is located in Treaty Three territory. I am writing to express my recommendations regarding the Deep Geological Repository (DGR) for Canada’s Used Nuclear Fuel Project. I suggest that the NWMO work with the neighboring First Nations regarding the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate, as guided by the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in fulfilling the NWMO’s obligations under the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act (Government of Canada 2002) AND the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Government of Canada 2021). 

As an Anishinaabe youth of Treaty Three I express my utmost defiance to the Deep Geological Repository (DGR) for Canada’s Used Nuclear Fuel Project that will cause irreversible environmental degradation to the homelands of many. However, within the small range of this comment, I uphold my position and request that the project be designated for a full review and public hearing. 

Additionally, We The Nuclear Free North states that “The project will include 50 years of transporting highly radioactive waste with average transportation distances of 1,800 km per trip (1,700 from Ontario reactors). The 160 years of operation will place 150,000 tonnes of the radioactive waste underground in the headwaters of the Wabigoon River watersheds. NWMO has selected a site between Ignace and Dryden in northwestern Ontario, in the heart of Treaty 3 territory. The NWMO has deemed only Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and the Township of Ignace to be “host communities”. The Township of Ignace is 45 km east of the site and in a different watershed; there are other communities closer by and hundreds of communities along the transportation route and downstream from the site who the NWMO has not included in their decision to select the Revell site. The NWMO describes the Revell site as being “in the territory of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation” but there are several other Treaty 3 Nations who are also in relationship with the land NWMO has selected.

Furthermore, I stand along Mary McPherson’s statement that recognizes the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples act into domestic Canadian Law, and should be implemented into the decision-making process: “the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [UNDRIP] has been adopted into domestic Canadian law through the UNDRIP Act as confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in Reference re An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. Article 29.2 of UNDRIP says that "states shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed consent." The Federal Court of Canada in Kebaowek First Nation v Canadian Nuclear Laboratories recently held that, in the context of the disposal of nuclear waste, the honour of the Crown requires that the Crown deeply consult with the objective of obtaining the consent of the Indigenous peoples affected AND consultations must be conducted in a manner which is tailored to indigenous laws, knowledges, and practices. 

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization [NWMO] has, so far, shamefully disregarded this constitutional obligation. The NWMO can acknowledge reconciliation all they want in their initial project description, but this means nothing when Eagle Lake First Nation, who shares their traditional territory with Wabigoon First Nation and whose traditional territory overlaps with the project area, has been left out of the consultation and site selection processes. Other First Nations communities will experience nothing short of devastation if this unprecedented project goes awry.

There needs to be a full impact assessment, including an (independent) integrated review panel according to section 43 of the Impact Assessment Act. No impact assessment process proceeds until Eagle Lake First Nation is recognized as a host community (more on this below).

Request that, aligned with section 22 of the Impact Assessment Act (which requires assessments of projects to take into account environmental, health, social, and economic conditions and the rights of Indigenous peoples/concerns of the public, as well as alternatives or alternative means of carrying out the project like site selection, etc), that the transportation of nuclear waste NOT be excluded from the scope of the project. The transportation of the waste, which would occur daily for 50 years on our dangerous highways, must be included in the impact assessment process. Lindgren mentions that the transportation of the nuclear waste is an integral, fundamentally related component of the project that should not be excluded, as "there is no independent utility to transporting waste on public highways." Additionally, the definition of "designated project" under the Impact Assessment Act includes any physical activity that is incidental to the project. Lindgren added that there has never been off-site transportation of used nuclear fuel waste in Canada--it is unprecedented, and therefore requires rigorous scrutiny.