Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd may be optimistic about the future of the proposed Near Surface Disposal Facility at Chalk River, but the Kebaowek First Nation (KFN) is not.
Kebaowek is accusing Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission of undermining talks aimed at securing KFN’s “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC) for the NSDF by pulling funding for the process.
Kebaowek issued a statement last week saying that it was “forced to suspend consultations on the proposed nuclear waste dump” after CNL and the CNSC “failed to fulfill critical commitments.”
Federal Court Justice Julie Blackhawk ordered CNL and the CNSC in 2025 to resume negotiations with Kebaowek under the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and its standard of “free, prior and informed consent.”
The negotiations had a deadline of the end of September 2026.
But KFN says that with “only weeks remaining before the court-ordered deadline, Kebaowek was forced to suspend all consultation and FPIC-implementation activities after the CNSC and CNL advised Kebaowek that they would no longer fund the Nation’s participation costs as previously understood.”
“The CNSC and CNL also informed Kebaowek that they would end their participation in the co-development of a consent-based agreement to support the process.
“Without funding or a partner in developing a consent-based process, Kebaowek is unable to continue consultations or finalize its FPIC process for the NSDF project.
“Kebaowek remains willing to resume consultations and its FPIC process if conditions for a credible process are restored”…
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