The Algonquins of Pikwakanagan may be on board, but representatives of the broader Algonquin communities say they have not and will not consent to the creation of the Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River.
In a press conference in Ottawa Tuesday morning, Chief Lance Haymond of the Kebaowek First Nation (KFN) said his people have “never consented to the nuclearization of the Chalk River site” and that it is “insanity to put such a deadly waste” facility “right beside a river.”
“I would like to be clear (that our) First Nation does not consent to the construction of the (NSDF) radioactive waste dump on our unceded territory.
“We believe that the consultation process has been inadequate, and that our Indigenous rights are threatened by this proposal,” he said.
Haymond said Chalk River is “already leaching radioactive pollution into the Ottawa River,” the source of drinking water for millions of people downstream, “and it’s only going to get progressively worse.”
“We need to wake up, take our heads out of the sand and recognize what a danger Chalk River poses, not only to the Algonquin people, but to all Canadians, especially those living in the Ottawa area”…
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