nuclear-news

Algonquin community wins part of court challenge over nuclear waste dump near Ottawa River

Federal judge orders nuclear regulator to renew consultation with Kebaowek First Nation on contentious project

Brett Forester · CBC News ·Feb 21, 2025 

An Algonquin community in Quebec is declaring victory after a judge upheld part of its court challenge to a proposed radioactive waste dump to be built about a kilometre away from the Ottawa River.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved the project in January 2024, greenlighting Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) to build the “near-surface disposal facility” at the Chalk River research campus near Deep River, Ont., 150 kilometres northwest of Ottawa.

But according to Federal Court Justice Julie Blackhawk, the regulatory body failed to consider internationally recognized Indigenous rights and how they apply in Canadian law when consulting with Kebaowek, rendering the approval decision both unreasonable and incorrect.

“The consultation process in this matter was not adequate,” Blackhawk wrote in a decision released Wednesday.

The judge ordered the commission and CNL to resume consultations with Kebaowek “in a robust manner,” while properly considering the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and its standard of free, prior and informed consent.

The consultation must be adapted to address Indigenous laws, knowledge and be aimed at reaching an agreement, to be completed by Sept. 30, 2026, Blackhawk ruled.

Kebaowek had asked the court to quash the commission’s approval entirely, requiring CNL to restart the process altogether. But Blackhawk declined, calling that impractical, sending the matter back to the commission to correct the process instead.

Nevertheless, community leaders are ecstatic, said Chief Lance Haymond.

“It’s clear that when Canada adopted UNDRIP, the provisions of UNDRIP had to be applied in Canadian law from the beginning, not in some time in the future,” said Haymond, whose community is 300 kilometres northwest of Ottawa.

“I think that’s a win for Kebaowek, and that’s a win for First Nations across this country.”

Haymond hailed the decision as one with far-reaching implications for industry and project proponents, meaning he expects it will be appealed. …………………………………….

The facility would contain up to one million cubic metres, or about 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth, of low-level radioactive waste from the Second World War-era Chalk River site in a specially designed mound.

Kebaowek has raised concerns about the project’s potential impact on drinking water, wildlife and Indigenous rights.

In the judicial review, the community raised novel legal arguments, centring on the commission’s obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act,federal legislation passed in 2021.

The law requires Canada to harmonize federal laws with UNDRIP, an international instrument outlining minimum standards for the protection of Indigenous peoples’ rights around the world. …………………………..more https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/kebaowek-judicial-review-win-1.7464036#:~:text=An%20Algonquin%20First%20Nation%20in,away%20from%20the%20Ottawa%20River.

February 23, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, indigenous issues