To the editor,

Coun. Mark Goetz of South Bruce – and now also candidate for mayor – spread at least two pieces of misinformation at the Oct. 5 all-candidates meeting in Formosa. Representing the host organization, Protect Our Waterways (POW), I feel the need to correct the record.

The first significant piece of misinformation Goetz told the audience of approximately 250 people was, “the majority of people want to hold off any referendum until they are more informed.” He has no basis in fact to make this claim, yet he cited the 2021 GDH Willingness Study as his source of this information.

That study found that of the 229 people who participated, there was an “overwhelming preference for a public referendum.” The study also found that there were “differing perspective on the timing of the referendum.” In that section, the study states that participants raised a “diversity of comments” related to timing including, “as part of the 2022 municipal election”, “as soon as possible”, “held separately from the municipal election,” and “more time should be taken before a referendum is held.” In no part of the GDH Study does it state, claim or even infer that the majority want to hold off a referendum until they are more informed.

More to the point, POW presented 1,754 signed petition cards to council in January 2022. Goetz dismissed the petition, repeating his misinformation about what most people wanted and the study from which his facts were drawn.

Perhaps Goetz just doesn’t read studies as well as he should. This was evident in his claim at the debate that any statement about the dairy industry being concerned about a DGR affecting their sales was “just a statement”, “never proven to be said”, and a “fear tactic.”

Yet, in the 2022 South Bruce Agriculture Business Impact Study, the chief operating officer of Chapman’s Ice Cream stated, “it’s the average consumer people like me have to worry about. Public perception is everything and I can’t criticize the public with associating bad things with nuclear and milk in this instance.” (page 107, Appendix C)

The Chapman’s COO also stated, “A nuclear waste depository underneath farm country may erode confidence in the Ontario dairy industry. The perception of the safety of our food supply may not always be accurate, but it still effects the buying habits of Canadians. In our opinion, as one of the largest processors of Canadian Dairy in Canada, this is a lose-lose scenario for consumers, processors, and dairy farmers.”

When asked by the consultant conducting the impact study on whether he had made that statement, the COO answered, “yes I did.” So, who are we believe? Mr. Goetz›s view of the facts or the COO of Chapman’s who made the statement? I know where my vote goes.

Hope-to-be Mayor Goetz seems to pick and choose his facts with an eye to those that reflect his bias that the DGR will be good for South Bruce. Whether those facts are there or not seems not to matter.

At the close of the session, he repeated his misinformation saying, “people made it clear, they want more information” and accuses the people who want a referendum as soon as possible as “not listening.”

As the flag bearer for demanding people become more informed, we respectfully suggest to Coun. Goetz that he become better informed himself. Because, as he said about being the mayor, “you’re setting an example for all.”

Anja van der Vlies

Protect Our Waterways – No Nuclear Waste

Teeswater

Continue reading this article at the Midwestern Newspapers Corp →

Date: Wednesday October 5^th, 2022

Time: 6:30pm to 9:30 pm

Place: Formosa Community Centre, 13 Community Drive

Video: Video recorded and posted to YouTube, post event, with closed captioning

AGENDA:

• Candidate information tables open 6:30 pm

• Introduction of council candidates 7:00 pm

• Candidate debate (mayoral candidates only) 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm

• Close of event 9:30

For information contact: Anja Vandervlies [email protected] 230.226.1254

CANDIDATES WHO MAY PARTICIPATE:

• For MAYOR - Robert Buckle, Mark Goetz, Rita Groen

• For COUNCILLOR, TEESWATER CULROSS, - Mike McDonagh, Mark Ireland, Michelle Stein, Gordon Ripley

• For COUNCILLOR, MILDMAY CARRICK– Jeff Goetz, Audrey Bross

• For COUNCILLOR AT LARGE - Nigel VanDyk, Mike Niesen, Sandy Bunker, Doug Kreller

• All Council candidates will be provided with a table for their campaign materials and a chair

• School Board candidates are also welcome, but space restrictions do not allow sufficient space to provide a table

PURPOSE:

1. To provide all South Bruce voters with opportunity to meet with the candidates running for a place on municipal council.

2. To provide all candidates with an equal opportunity to meet voters, hear their concerns, and answer their questions.

3. For candidates to be able to share and distribute any campaign material they wish.

4. To host a moderated debate between the candidates for mayor.

MODERATOR:

• Tony McQuail, Lucknow, ON

• Tony McQuail and his wife, Fran are semi-retired farmers helping their daughter Katrina on the farm near St. Helens. McQuail served as a Huron County School Board Trustee for three terms and also served as the executive assistant to the Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural affairs. McQuail has a long-standing interest in democracy and is a member of Fair Vote Canada.
  
  

FOR VOTERS:

1. Registration at the door, name, address, email (optional)

2. Voters will be provided a card on which to write ONE question they would like answered by the mayoral candidates during the debate.

3. The questions will be provided to the moderator who has sole authority have the question asked to the mayoral candidates

FOR ALL CANDIDATES:

• All candidates will be provided with a table and tabletop sign. The sign will provide attendees with the name of the candidate and the position they are running for. Candidates are responsible for providing campaign material and signage.

COUNCIL CANDIDATE SELF-INTRODUCTIONS

• Each candidate for council will be given 3 minutes on stage to introduce themselves

• They will be invited to the stage by the moderator

FOR MAYORAL CANDIDATE DEBATE (90 MINUTES)

• Moderator will welcome audiences, introduce candidates, and explain the format and rules of the debate

• ROUND 1: Each candidate has a 3-minute opening statement

• ROUND 2: Moderator will take one question from attendees, from pre-registered community organizations

  • Protect Our Waterways

  • Willing to Listen

  • South Bruce Community and Business Association

  • Mildmay Chamber of Commerce

  • The question will be directed to one candidate, who will then have 2 minutes to answer the question. The other two candidates will have two minutes each to respond. Candidates will not be able to interrupt each other’s statements

• ROUND 3: Moderator will take questions from the audience, taken from the submitted question cards. The questions may be directed to a candidate or all three. Candidates are limited to a 1-minute answers. Each candidate may response to the other candidates answer

• ROUND 4: Each candidate will be one question of the other two candidates. Responses limited to 1 minute

• ROUND 5: Closing remarks by each mayoral candidate (2 minutes)

• CLOSE of event

By Cory Bilyea

Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Protect Our Waterways members respond

TORONTO – The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) revised its timeline for the site selection for the deep geological repository (DGR), pushing the date for a final decision back by a year, from 2023 to 2024.

The announcement released on Aug. 12 comes one day after news broke about the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) vehemently opposing the whole project being located near Ignace, Ont., one of the two remaining locations being investigated for the DGR.

Forty-nine NAN chiefs passed a resolution at their recent 40th annual Keewaywin Conference held in Timmins from Aug. 9 to 11, sending a clear message to the NWMO: no nuclear waste on their traditional territory.

The NWMO says they need more time to provide information to potential hosts for the project.

“We have experienced significant delays in our face-to-face consultation and interaction activities, particularly in communities exploring their suitability to host the project,” said Lise Morton, vice president of site selection at the NWMO. “Making this small adjustment to our schedule will also give us and potential host communities additional time to review and absorb new information as they determine whether the project’s arrival will align with their vision and priorities.”

Although Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) has not officially voted on the DGR project in South Bruce, some of its members spoke out after the NWMO’s announcement, reiterating the 2020 vote that shut down the low to intermediate-level nuclear waste DGR that the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) proposed to build near the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant in Kincardine.

SON member Patrick Lavalley told Midwestern Newspapers that he is opposed to the DGR and believes that SON already made their decision when they voted on the matter in 2020.

“The Saugeen Ojibway Nation voted 85 per cent against a low-level nuclear waste dump in January 2020,” Lavalley said. “Ontario Power Generation said they wouldn’t build the $2.4 billion underground facility under the Bruce Power site without the SON’s approval. That should have been the end of this issue. Instead, OPG doubled down and is now trying to inflict a medium- and high-level nuclear dump on us.”

When asked if the decision to wait another year would affect his decision, Lavalley said, “OPG’s altering the nomenclature and re-issuing the question is breaking their original oath to us. My opinion will not change based on that alone. They cannot be trusted at their word.”

Ephraim Sandy, also a SON member, has been following the DGR discussions for years and opposes the high-level nuclear waste project.

“There is a giant elephant in the room; no one wants to bridge this subject,” said Sandy. “Look, this nuclear waste will not be shipped, railed, driven out of the territory, period. It’s not going to happen. We said ‘NO,’ however, this reality has to be discussed. We need to leverage what position we have today. And benefit from this impossible situation that isn’t going anywhere before our leverage is taken and they legislate us out of the storage equation.

“There are no agreements with us for storage. We need to move forward and press them for payment before we even discuss this issue further. Rent is due before we talk about permanent storage.”

Officially, SON has not decided on the high-level waste DGR being built on their territory, but a source close to the band who chooses to remain anonymous for now said that several “legacy” issues need to be addressed with SON before they would consider any new agreements.

A source within SON indicated that there would be an announcement soon regarding SON’s position on the DGR.

Protect Our Waterways – No Nuclear Waste (POW-NNW) responded to the NWMO announcement with several points, including questioning the timing of the announcement.

“Why the sudden decision to delay site selection? Is it a coincidence that this was announced after Nishnawbe Aski Nation Chiefs voted to ‘vehemently oppose’ the NWMO’s concept of a DGR near Ignace?” POW said in an email.

“Is this delay to allow more time for the NWMO to follow the Systematic Development of Informed Consent (SDIC)? SDIC is a strategy used by several of the NWMO consultants and employees who have participated in this training by Bleiker. Is it to give the NWMO a chance to spend more money in an attempt to manufacture ‘informed consent?’

“Just because the NWMO is postponing its decision it doesn’t mean the community has to wait until 2024. The current council has time and time again told residents it is too soon for the community to make a decision, yet our current council continues to sign agreements with the NWMO to continue further into the process. We need a council that will listen to the community. Our risk. Our choice. We need a council willing to listen to the voices of the residents and ratepayers.”

An Aug. 12 media release from the NWMO said, “This schedule change should not impact the overall Canadian plan schedule. Construction of the repository is still expected to begin in 2033, and operation of the repository is expected to begin in the early 2040s.

“Since 2010, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization has been leading a process to identify a site for a deep geological repository. The selection of a site is a crucial step which will mark the beginning of a new series of activities, in particular the regulatory decision-making process.

“With a project of such complexity and generational scope, we always anticipated that we would have to adapt things as we went along without losing sight of our longer-term goals.

“As with all organizations and businesses, several provincial lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted our work. Reviewing our five-year implementation plan and considering the impacts of the pandemic, we have made the decision to postpone the timing of site selection. We now expect that we will identify the optimal site by fall 2024.”

Continue reading this article at the Midwestern Newspapers Corp →

FACT SHEET PRODUCED BY THE CANADIAN COALITION FOR NUCLEAR RESPONSIBILITY
Gordon Edwards, Ph.D., September 2022

Modern medicine does not depend nuclear power. All electricity producing reactors could be shut down permanently with little or no impact on best medical practices.

1. X-rays and CT-scans are by far the most common forms of “radiation” used by doctors, dentists and nurses in hospitals and clinics. These have nothing to do with radioactivity or nuclear reactors.
   
   
2. When X-ray machines and CT scanners are turned off, they are completely harmless. There is no more radiation emitted. There is no radioactivity at all associated with such machines.
   
   
3. Some radioactive materials are used in medicine for diagnosis or therapy. In addition, some are used to sterilize instruments and equipment such as masks, needles, and other paraphernalia.
   
   
4. Radioactive materials for medical use are called “medical isotopes” or “radiopharmaceuticals”. Some of them emit gamma radiation (similar to X-rays, but stronger). Some of them emit fast-moving subatomic projectiles – electrically charged alpha particles, beta particles, or positrons.
   
   
5. All radioactive emissions are harmful to living cells, especially rapidly dividing cells. They can accordingly be used to destroy malignant growths or to kill micro-organisms in order to sterilize medical equipment.
   
   
6. Radioactivity is hazardous, and it cannot be turned off like an X-ray machine. So the use of radioactive materials in medicine requires careful control at all times – before, during & after use.
   
   
7. Some radioactive materials that are used in medicine, such as radium, radon and thorium, are extracted from naturally-occurring ores and have nothing to do with nuclear reactors.
   
   
8. Some radioactive materials used in medicine are created in a “particle accelerators” such as cyclotrons or linear accelerator. These devices have nothing in common with nuclear reactors.
   
   
9. Some radioactive materials used in medicine are created in small research reactors that do not generate electricity. They are typically 20 to 300 times smaller than nuclear power reactors.
   
   
10. A few medically useful radioactive isotopes are produced in power reactors, but they can equally well be produced in research reactors. Sometimes the same radioactive material, or an alternative material that serves the same purpose, can be produced in a particle accelerator.
    
    
11. Damage to healthy cells by radioactivity may lead to cancer years later or to undesired genetic mutations. Infants and foetuses are more readily harmed than adults because cell growth is rapid. Girls and women are more vulnerable than adult males.
    
    
12. Some medical procedures that once relied on radioactivity have been replaced by procedures that are just as good or better and do not require handling radioactive sources.
    
    
13. Many hospitals that used X-rays or gamma emitting cobalt-60 therapy to destroy cancerous tumors now use beams of charged particles. This more modern medical technology is very effective and has nothing to do with radioactivity or nuclear reactors.
    
    
14. Powerful gamma-emittinng cobalt-60, created in a rector, is often used to sterilize medical equipment. But sterilization can be done in other ways use no radioactive materials at all.

Hospitals do not need nuclear power, and never have.  Any isotopes (radioactive material) that are considered medically required can be produced by accelerators or small research reactors. Medical procedures that do not involve radioactivity are increasingly preferred.

FOR MORE DETAILS ON ANY OF THESE 14 POINTS SEE www.ccnr.org/medical_fact_sheet_2022.pdf

The site selection process for a proposed Deep Geologic Repository in Ontario has been extended to 2024.

The NWMO, the organization spearheading the research, says the extension from 2023 considers the impacts of the global pandemic and the various provincial lockdowns for the shift.

Officials say the added time will allow for more face-to-face engagement and interaction.

And it’s also giving people in the area additional time to review and absorb information available.

Once a site is selected, construction is expected to start in 2033.

The two communities being considered as host are South Bruce and Ignace.

Click the title of the news to read the NWMO’s full statement

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are calling on President Joe Biden to formally oppose Canadian plans to permanently store nuclear waste at a facility near Lake Huron.

Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization has five facilities slated for nuclear waste storage — among them the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in South Bruce, Ontario. South Bruce is about 30 miles east of Lake Huron. While the facility is currently approved for interim waste storage currently, NWMO unveiled plans for permanent storage last year.

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, led lawmakers in introducing the resolution. Reps. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, and Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids, are also among the resolution's 20 co-signers. 

“The Great Lakes are the pride and joy of Michigan. They are home to wide range of plant and animal species, generate more than $3.1 trillion in economic activity, support hundreds of thousands of jobs, and underpin Michigan’s flourishing fishing, boating, and tourism industries,” Upton said in a statement.

“The long-term preservation of these natural treasures remains a top priority for me and the entire Great Lakes Caucus. We can never allow hazardous materials of any kind — particularly nuclear waste — to be stored anywhere near the Great Lakes. Period.”

Continue reading this article at the Holland Sentinel →

Study shows community preference for referendum

Four months after beginning its community-wide consultations, the draft results of the South Bruce Willingness Study Report identified a public referendum as the preferred method to determine the willingness of the community to host the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) Deep Geological Repository (DGR). Of the 229 South Bruce residents who participated in the public meetings (virtual and in-person) and online surveys, 136 confirmed a referendum as their preferred method. The study was conducted by GDH Consulting for the Municipality of South Bruce using funds provided by the NWMO.

“We are pleased to see the Willingness Study reflect our long-held position,” said Michelle Stein, Chair, Protect Our Waterways. “A binding referendum is the only legitimate way to determine willingness. It guarantees everyone a voice and respects both their choice and their privacy.”

Quotes from some of study participants are highlighted in the report include:

“Processes that do not provide an opportunity for input by all citizens cannot be true and full representations of community willingness.”

• “Ability to move on with lives after vote. Sooner the better. The people have a voice.”
• “All residents need a method to voice their willingness or unwillingness.”

Stein said, “Hosting the DGR will permanently change the character, reputation, and economy of our community. Every resident and business will have to live with the risks and any promised benefits for generations to come. Such a momentous decision cannot be made a small group of people, however well-intentioned they may be.

Stein said, “We urge the Mayor and Council of South Bruce to move quickly and include a binding referendum as part of the next municipal election in October 2022. Our community must be given the opportunity to answer a clear yes or no question on whether we want to host the NWMO’s DGR.”

A link to the published study is here.