South Bruce residents digest dense $418 million hosting agreement

By Greg Cowan

The $418 million hosting agreement signed Wednesday by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization and South Bruce is a complex 50-plus page document.

Perhaps it is fittingly dense for a first-of-its-kind project in Canada with a 100-plus year lifespan that will transform whichever municipality is chosen to host Canada’s high-level nuclear waste deep underground.

Some of those in South Bruce who have followed Canada’s search for a suitable place to construct a deep geological repository (DGR) in their proverbial backyard are now trying to wrap their heads around what was agreed to in the hosting agreement before being asked to decide whether they are an informed and willing host this fall in a referendum.

Michelle Stein has rallied against the project for years as part of Protect Our Waterways — No Nuclear Waste.

She sounded defeated in a text message Thursday while aiming to plant grain at a field near the potential DGR site.

“What difference does anyone’s thoughts make now?” Stein asked. “The council and NWMO have never sought our input and have completely ignored all of our concerns.”

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