Hub Staff

Saugeen Shores Council has deferred its decision to support the deep geologic repository (DGR) until Catherine McKenna, the newly appointed Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, gets more information from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) after she rejected February 18 the Joint Review Panel's (JRP) report, that the DGR project is “not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects,” for the proprosed spent nuclear waste site.

Save Our Saugeen Shores (S.O.S.), a group opposed to the DGR was out in full force filling council chambers February 29, with three concerned citizens, Patrick Gibbons, Geoffrey Dunn M.D., and Ellen Dailey M.D., speaking to council on their views about the DGR during the Open Forum portion of the evening.

During the Committee of a Whole session there were three speakers with two motions against the DGR and one for the proposed DGR. John Mann and Charles Hazell of S.O.S. spoke against the proposed idea of a DGR, with Mann insinuating that the DGR could cause a similar water crisis as to the current situation in Flint, Michigan, and included a video presentation to council.

Charles Hazel of S.O.S. stated that the DGR 1 does not match up to other tests that have been done in Europe and that it has "skipped important researching and testing stages” and called the proposed Kincardine site “unique”.

Former Kincardine Mayor and Councillor Glenn Sutton attempted to "debunk” popular myths surrounding the DGR, by addressing that there was input from prior community consideration, and called associating the DGR to the Flint water crisis "fear-mongering”.

“'Low- and intermediate- level nuclear waste will be dumped on the shoreline of the Greet Lakes' is a very poor choice of words. These types of statements are misleading,” said Sutton when he addressed council February 29.

He added that the actual location of the proposed DGR is below the water table and so deep that it “ensures safety”. The DGR would be located 660 metres below ground surface in low permeable limestone with overlying low permeability shale.

When it was time for council to discuss the motions Councillor Dave Myette said there has been a great deal of correspondence over the past few weeks (through e-mails and letters to the editor) and with the night's delegations he had hoped that there would be an "‘Aha', moment”, that would change his pro DGR stance, but there wasn't. “I did not find anything in the arguments to make me think otherwise,” said Myette, who continued to announce that he doesn't think that future generations should have to deal with making the decision about where to put this waste, and suggested that it would be wrong to “bury our heads in the sand and hope that another way is found.”

Councillor John Rich was also for the DGR but now believes that Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will look at the DGR with a objective perspective, and insisted that council defer the motion.

“There's no pressure of time for us to make a statement today. We can wait and see all the information that comes forward, and ask ourselves if the new information that has been presented can change our perspective, one way or another,” Rich said.

He continued with the hope that people will broaden their perspective either way. “I find that individuals tend to live in information silos, and they form an opinion usually based on a gut reaction. Then they seek out information which confirms what they have already thought, so it's my hope that we can come to a central and more objective perspective,” said Rich who stated that he doesn't like how this issue has divided the community.

Vice Deputy Mayor Diane Huber seconded Councillor Rich’s motion. “I feel strongly in supporting the findings from the JRP, but I also feel strongly that the new Minister hasn't had time to do her due diligence so I don't begrudge her for taking a step back and saying that it's going to take a little more time,” said Huber.

When councillors finished their debate on the motion Mayor Mike Smith took the time to defend the allegations about the condemned closed door meetings between municipalities and OPG regarding the DGR.

“I want to address that issue on the closed (door) meetings, they were a big issue but 17 times it was on the agenda of Bruce County Council and not one time did any one of these people that are making an issue out of this ask to speak to it,” said the mayor, who then asked for a vote.

Councillor Dave Myette, Councillor Neil Menage and Mayor Mike Smith lost their motion three to five as Councillors Rich, Matheson, Grace, Vice Deputy Mayor Huber and Deputy Mayor Luke Charbonneau voted for the motion to be deferred until McKenna’s findings which was passed.