And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Subject: Canada 9/30/99 Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 18:15:40 -0400 From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] First Nations oppose shipment of plutonium By Terry Pender/THE SUDBURY STAR First Nations across northeastern Ontario are threatening to disrupt shipments of weapons-grade plutonium unless the federal government immediately consults the affected communities. “We haven’t had an opportunity to have our concerns raised and addressed,” said Earl Commanda, chief of the Serpent River First Nation. In response, the North Shore Tribal Council voted unanimously to condemn the shipment of MOX fuel along the Trans-Canada Highway from Sault Ste. Marie to Chalk River, northwest of Ottawa. MOX fuel is a mixture of 97 per cent enriched uranium and three per cent plutonium. About 120 grams of MOX will be shipped under armed guard in specially-designed containers and tracked by satellite. A small amount will be burned in the nuclear reactors at Chalk River to see if the Canadian technology can destroy the plutonium, which comes from dismantled nuclear warheads in the U.S. and Russia. “The major concern is that this test shipment opens the door for Canada to be a repository for plutonium from the U.S. and Russia,” said Commanda. The MOX fuel will pass through four First Nations in northeastern Ontario -- Garden River in Sault Ste. Marie, Mississaugi near Blind River, Serpent River and Nipissing near North Bay. “Civil disobedience and roadblocks are not out of the question,” said Commanda, “but it’s actually too early to be talking about those. We want the federal government to immediately set up a process where we can be heard.” If the federal government attempts to ship the material before consulting with the First Nations, the transport truck and escorts will be “met with resistance” upon entering one or all of the First Nations along the route, said Dwayne Nashkawa, of the Union of Ontario Indians. “What form that resistance takes will be up to each community,” said Nashkawa. “What we are trying to convey is the seriousness of our concern.” Nashkawa said! ! the First Nations along the route were “stunned” after reading about the plutonium shipments in newspapers. “Our hope is that the federal government will realize its mistake in not talking with the First Nations affected and convene a process immediately,” said Nashkawa. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited held public hearings in North Bay, Sudbury, Blind River and Sault Ste. Marie after those municipal councils protested the shipments. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
