Ontario Power Generation (OPG) had previously proposed building a Deep Geological Repository (DGR) for storing nuclear waste as part of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station. If the concept had been accepted, it would have been North America’s first permanent nuclear waste storage facility – some 775 metres (840 yards) from the shore of Lake Huron. But the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) voted against the proposal and it was pulled from consideration in 2020. You can read more about the Vote and the outcome under the Other Concerns tab on this website.
Anyone proposing the permanent storage of high-level radioactive waste near the world’s largest reservoir of fresh water is subject to considerable public accountability. At the very least, they are tasked with demonstrating rigorous evidence that this can be done safely and taking public concerns into consideration. But as the articles in this section demonstrate, there is a lack of such evidence – and while OPG solicited public input through hearings, many of OPG’s actions called into question whether it can be trusted to fulfill its responsibilities to the public. Now the situation is much more complicated as the federal government has charged the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to figure out solutions by 2023.
Thus we oppose any proposal to bury nuclear waste, believing these proposals all pose unacceptable long-term environmental, health and safety risks. We do not know whether the new site or sites will store low-level and intermediate-level nuclear waste from all of Ontario's nuclear power plants - all of Canada's nuclear plants - even the United States' nuclear waste nor do we know how much high-level or low-level nuclear waste would be stored there. We need more answers to our questions and we are hoping that by asking more questions of public officials, we can learn more about the proposed high-level nuclear waste burial sites.
Part of the Bruce complex – note the nuclear power plant's proximity to Lake Huron. This proposal wa