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MKO wants to be educated on nuclear waste management

An agreement has been signed between Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) that will see NWMO fund educational services for MKO communities to understand what their organization is doing.

An agreement has been signed between Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) that will see NWMO fund educational services for MKO communities to understand what their organization is doing.

“The agreement has nothing at all to do with MKO looking to be a potential host,” said Michael Krizanc, communication manager for NWMO. “They just want to learn about it because they feel like it could impact them some way in the future. We closed off the expressions of interest in 2012, so we’re not seeking new interest from potential hosts. We’re in fact narrowing down the number of communities we’re working with.”

MKO Grand Chief David Harper wants to make it clear that this agreement is based on education only. “This funding we’re asking for is strictly for education. It says in the agreement, ‘council further states that it wishes to secure more information in order to respond to inquiries made by our membership on nuclear waste management organization processes.’ It should be noted for securing funds should not be viewed as consultations nor consent in the process, but rather securing a mechanism to facilitate dialogue to understand the work currently purposed by NWMO.”

NWMO will provide funds up to $312,689 for the MKO 2015-16 work plan, including $91,000 for human resources and hiring a project manager to lead the educational services, $25,000 to support Northern Manitoba trappers, and $40,000 for educating and including youth in these talks. Other monies will go towards office operations, travel, elder and MKO senate support, and community meetings.

Krizanc says this money being comes from nuclear electricity producers. “When the nuclear fuel waste was passed in 2002 it gave responsibility to nuclear waste producers, which are Ontario Power Generation, Hydro Quebec, and New Brunswick Power, and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. It gave them responsibility to set up our organization and to fund our organization, and to put away monies in trust funds to pay for long-term management of nuclear fuel.”

Harper believes it’s NWMO’s responsibility to educate communities on their process when it comes to finding a host for the nuclear waste storage sites. “The Ontario chiefs did a nuclear-free zone resolution and also a separate resolution on education, same thing with northern Saskatchewan chiefs. We did the same thing here in Manitoba because we’re late in the game, so we put a proposal together requesting that NWMO support educating our youth, elders, trappers, and fisherman, our communities. They’d explain what is really happening, where these storage are located.”

When discussions began about hosting a repository, 22 communities came forward saying they wanted to learn more and they may be interested. Krizanc says NWMO didn’t go to any community asking, they waited for communities to come to them.

On Mar. 3, NWMO announced that Creighton is off the list for potential hosts for the storage site. Krizanc says it’s due to the geology around the community. “Safety is the top priority. If the geology isn’t right then the community is not going to host the repository.”

Since Creighton is off the list, Harper says MKO will direct their attention now to Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay and communities surrounding that area that may be affected in the future.

Krizanc went on to explain when the host is picked the community would be an informed and willing community. The chosen place will also need agreement from the neighbouring communities and the aboriginal and Métis neighbours.

Harper will be meeting with other chiefs on Mar. 18 to discuss the agreement with NWMO and the hiring of a project manager to begin educational programs.

As for the potential hosts for nuclear waste, more studies will be conducted with the interested communities and a site will be named in the future. 

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