And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: via: sovernet-l <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [No mention of Meadow Lake Tribal Council's (abandoned) attempt to negotiate a deal with AECL to bury high-level waste on Cree and Dene land in Saskatchewan. - jk.] From: "Hicks, Jack" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Jamie Kneen (E-mail)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: jerks... Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 08:22:43 -0500 Ottawa talked to natives about taking nuclear waste: Government met with Indian leaders in bid to find long-term storage site ANNE McILROY and ERIN ANDERSSEN Parliamentary Bureau The Globe and Mail March 9, 1999 Ottawa -- The federal government has approached the Assembly of First Nations to discuss how to get remote northern native bands to accept the country's nuclear waste for long-term disposal, native sources say. Government officials, mostly from the Department of Natural Resources, met with Indian leaders in November in Ottawa to discuss burying nuclear waste in the Canadian Shield. But the sources say they also asked for advice on how to start consultations with native communities that might be persuaded to allow the highly radioactive waste in their area. AFN national chief Phil Fontaine confirmed yesterday that there had been at least one meeting, which he didn't attend but which he was briefed on. "The carrot here of course is money," Mr. Fontaine said. "People figure that first nations would be an easier sell. It's an insult." Mr. Fontaine's comments add fuel to a growing debate over whether the federal government is fast-tracking plans to bury highly radioactive waste deep in the Canadian Shield. Yesterday, Natural Resources Minister Ralph Goodale insisted the government is still considering other options. David MacInnis, a senior aide to Mr. Goodale, said there have been discussions with AFN officials. But he said the meetings were at the natives' request, adding that they were seeking assurances that they would not be excluded from the decision-making process on where the waste may be buried. Mr. Fontaine, however, said it was his understanding that the government had approached the AFN. He also said he doesn't believe native communities will take the waste. "There's no amount of money that would ever be acceptable. We would discourage our people from participating." Last year, an environmental review panel expressed serious reservations about burying nuclear waste deep in the Canadian Shield. The panel noted that aboriginal people would be most affected, since most potential sites are on their land, and it urged the government to consult natives. The panel concluded that while burying the waste appeared technically safe as a concept, it didn't have broad social appeal. It laid out a detailed process by which the government should proceed. The government's response in December left many antinuclear groups and opposition MPs believing it is planning to move quickly and bury the waste. Ottawa rejected the panel's recommendation that it set up a new Crown corporation to handle waste disposal, deciding instead that the three utilities that own nuclear waste should establish and finance the new agency. It also rejected the three-year delay the committee recommended for looking for alternative ways of handling the waste. In addition, it rejected the process the committee recommended for choosing and evaluating a site for the waste. A government document, stamped secret, estimates it will cost $11-billion to dispose of the waste over 100 years. This means there will a huge cash infusion and new jobs in whatever area accepts the disposal. Mr. Fontaine said poor native communities in Canada's North could be pressed to take the waste to get the money. He said the AFN won't even help the government "design a process" to pitch the idea to native communities. Although government officials said they weren't trying to sell the idea, native sources said the discussions focused on the best way to approach prospective communities and played down the risks of accepting nuclear waste. The government officials, sources said, also asked the AFN to keep the meeting quiet. Government officials cancelled a second meeting planned for early this year with an environmental committee of the native organization at the last minute without giving a reason. Antinuclear activists also fear that impoverished communities would be enticed by jobs and cash even though they fear nuclear waste storage isn't safe. "Natural Resources Canada is giving a clear message that they're ready to unleash the nuclear industry in search of some community that can be lured into looking at proposals for a nuclear waste repository nearby," said Brennain Lloyd, a spokesperson for Northwatch, a citizens coalition in Northeastern Ontario. "We want to give a clear message back that we are working with people throughout the Canadian Shield to put communities on alert that the nuclear salesman may be on their doorstep." Rick Laliberte, MP for Churchill River, Sask., agreed. Mr. Laliberte, a M�tis, said many small communities may be tempted. "Most northern Canadian communities are economically deprived. So if you bring in an economic solution to their community, this is a dangerous formula to be playing around with." But Mr. Goodale said the government is not fast-tracking the waste-disposal plan and is considering other options. "Clearly, we say that there are a variety of options that need to be examined," he said. "Deep disposal was one idea, brought forward by one stakeholder." NATIVE OBJECTIONS The experience of the Dene of Deline is one good reason Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine believes no native communities will take the country's nuclear waste. For years, the Dene lugged uranium ore on their backs from a government-owned mine on the shores of Great Bear Lake. No one told them the "money rock" was dangerous. No one said it would be used to build the nuclear bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Radioactive radium and uranium were discovered at Great Bear Lake in the early 1930s, across from where the Dene now live. The mine was privately run until Ottawa took over when uranium became crucial to the war effort. Eldorado Mining and Refining, a Crown corporation, ran the Port Radium mine until it closed in the 1960s. Non-natives worked the mine and Dene men were ore carriers. They loaded 45-kilogram sacks onto boats, portaging on the journey down Great Bear River to the Mackenzie River and south. The ore carriers were called "cookies" and were often covered in dust from uranium ore and radium, a radioactive byproduct of uranium ore. It got into clothes, hair, mouths and hands. They brought their wives with them. Many of the men died from cancer, and Deline is now known as the village of widows. The Dene of Deline are worried their water and food have been contaminated and are seeking compensation. The AFN was first approached with the idea of burying nuclear waste in the early 1990s and decided against it because of health risks and opposition from community residents. Staff THE PROBLEM About 1.3 million used Candu fuel bundles are stored at Canadian nuclear-reactor sites. That's enough to fill three hockey rinks to the top of the boards. There are 22 reactors in Canada, most owned by Ontario Hydro, although Hydro-Qu�bec and New Brunswick Power each have one. That means Ontario Hydro has 90 per cent of the liability. The federal government estimates it will cost $11-billion to dispose of the nuclear waste over 70 to 100 years. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. spent 20 years and $700-million to develop the concept of disposing of nuclear waste deep in the stable rock of the Canadian Shield. The waste would be put into containers and buried about 500 to 1,000 metres below the surface. The long-term safety would not depend on continuing care and attention, although future generations could decide whether it needed monitoring. ______________________________________________________________________ EAST TIMOR ON THE NET For the latest updates, news and views on East Timor and Indonesia visit http://www.easttimor.com maintained by the East Timor International Support Centre Hon. 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