Local mayors add voices to nuclear waste protest
Elected officials in lower-tier governments on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border have the best understanding of how important the natural assets in their communities are, according to Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop.
Last week, Redekop included his name on an open letter to Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna, calling on her to reject Ontario Power Generation’s plan to bury nuclear waste in an underground bunker near Kincardine, Ont., along the shore of Lake Huron.
The plan has been endorsed by a federal panel and an environmental assessment has also concluded the deep geological repository project will “likely not” have negative environmental impacts.
Canadian and U.S. critics disagree with this projection and 104 people who are mayors or regional and county politicians from both countries have collaborated on the letter to McKenna, a Liberal MP elected to represent the Ottawa Centre riding in 2015.
Redekop said he and the other 103 signatories to the letter represent officials who know how much the Great Lakes mean to the many towns and cities that surround them.
The quality of drinking water, tourism, the appeal of waterfront property and more — these are the assets communities need to protect for themselves, he said.
“Sometimes upper levels of government don’t pay as much attention as they should to the significance of what we have as a resource,” said Redekop.
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik, Port Colborne Mayor John Maloney and Thorold Mayor Ted Luciani have also joined the cause and signed the letter.
“We’re the ones right on the ground — so we have to deal with issues that affect people’s daily lives,” said Redekop.
“We have to make sure the things that are a value to our community are protected,” he added.
Redekop, whose town sits on Lake Erie, is also concerned that the proposed site of the bunker is at the start of the watershed, which means if a problem occurs, it won’t take long to spread.
“Once something gets into the water, it goes through the entire system and has the potential to affect everybody,” he said.
In March, Redekop criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for his plans to slash funding for a restoration and conservation initiative for the Great Lakes from $300 million to $10 million.
“This is an issue you have to be constantly vigilant about,” said Redekop at the time. “You only have to go back 45 years to see how pollution had a tremendously negative impact. We cannot afford to go backward.”
The 104 signatures on the letter to McKenna are from officials in Ontario and eight U.S. states.
The letter is behind the Stop the Great Lakes Dump effort, a nonprofit organization fighting the possible project.