Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and staff of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission have failed to build a relationship of trust on the proposed Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River, says one of the Indigenous communities identified for further consultation on the project.
In a written submission to the CNSC dated May 1, the Kebaowek First Nation (KFN) says both CNSC staff and CNL “had closed their minds to revisiting previous decisions and processes” on the NSDF, despite further consultations being ordered by the commission itself.
“From the outset, they appeared to operate on the assumption that the NSDF would inevitably be approved, and any impacts to our rights could and would be accounted for,” KFN says in its submission.
“The point of consultation is to ensure impacts to rights are assessed and accommodated before a project is approved,” KFN says.
“The regulator and proponent cannot assume the project will go forward, then promise to do such assessments and accommodation later…
“It is not enough to say ‘there will be a plan to address this’; you have to actually evaluate the plan”…
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