Stop The Great Lakes Nuclear Dump Inc. 3-304 Stone Road West, Suite 185 Guelph, Ontario N1G 4W4
February 2, 2017 Via Email
The Honourable Catherine McKenna, P.C., M.P. Minister of Environment and Climate Change House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1A 0A6
Dear Minister,
Re: Proposed Great Lakes Nuclear Dump in Kincardine Ontario
Further to our email correspondence of January 24th, we are expressing serious concern that Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has made intentionally misleading statements to you, to the media and to the public regarding its proposed nuclear waste repository project.
In its one-sided self-serving report to the Minister it blatantly states that there is little interest among the general public regarding OPG’s proposed nuclear waste repository project, failing to disclose anywhere in its report the massive opposition that exists.
Contrary to OPG claims in media reports and in OPG’s report to the Minister, there is significant interest, concern and opposition to OPG’s plan to bury nuclear waste on the shore of the Great Lakes as noted in the table below.
OPG Claims: The Facts: • The public does not Resolutions opposing OPG’s plan to bury its nuclear waste on care where OPG the shore of Lake Huron or anywhere in the Great Lakes Basin buries its radioactive have been passed by: nuclear waste • The National Association of Counties in the United • There is little interest States, which represents 3,069 counties (population among the general 255 million citizens) public regarding • The Great Lakes Legislative Caucus, representing OPG’s nuclear waste lawmakers from 8 Great Lakes States and Quebec repository project • Over 180 Great Lakes cities representing over 23 million citizens • The United Tribes of Michigan • The Michigan State Senate (unanimous) • The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment • The American Academy of Environmental Medicine
Letter to Honourable Catherine McKenna, P.C., M.P. Minister of Environment and Climate Change February 2, 2017
Elected officials have taken action to stop OPG’s proposed nuclear waste dump: • 32 U.S. Senators and Members of Congress sign a letter to Canada’s Prime Minister • Resolutions introduced in U.S. Congress • U.S. Senators send letter to U.S. Secretary of State • Michigan State Senators and a State Representative testify at public hearings • U.S. Members of Congress send letter to Joint Review Panel • U.S. Member of Congress sends letter to Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
Citizens and NGO’s voice strong opposition to OPG’s plan: • Thousands of citizens submit comments to Joint Review Panel and letters to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change • Dozens of Canadian and U.S. NGO’s testify before Joint Review Panel during public hearings in 2013 and 2014 • Over 100 organizations sign joint letters to Minister McKenna
Petitions call on Minister McKenna to reject OPG’s plan: • Stop The Great Lakes Nuclear Dump petition with over 95,000 signatures • SumOfUs petition with over 59,000 signatures
All of the information shown above is publicly available on the Stop The Great Lakes Nuclear Dump website, monitored by OPG. In addition, much of it was presented at the public hearings where over a dozen OPG executives were in attendance.
OPG’s actions in misleading the public, the media and Minister McKenna should cast serious doubt about many additional aspects of OPG’s plan.
Yours sincerely,
Beverly Fernandez Spokesperson and Founding Member Stop The Great Lakes Nuclear Dump Inc. www.stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com
Letter to Honourable Catherine McKenna, P.C., M.P. Minister of Environment and Climate Change February 2, 2017
The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs The Honourable Dominic Leblanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs The Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health The Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veteran Affairs The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science The Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario Ron Hallman, President, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Marlo Raynolds, Chief of Staff, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Stop The Great Lakes Nuclear Dump Inc. is a non-profit organization comprised of concerned Canadians who believe that the protection of the Great Lakes from buried radioactive nuclear waste is responsible stewardship, and is of national and international importance.
The Great Lakes were created by an ice age 12,000 years ago. The Egyptian pyramids were created 4,500 years ago. Some nuclear waste remains radioactive for 100,000 years. The Great Lakes constitute 21% of the world’s fresh water. The Great Lakes are the water source supporting 40 million people in 2 countries. An underground nuclear waste dump 1 km from the shore of Lake Huron defies common sense.
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