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Canada’s New Democrats gaining support for opposing nuclear subsidies

Canada’s New Democrats  – Jack Layton and New Democrats advocate ending public subsidies for nuclear energy industry.

 Jack Layton on nuclear power in Canada, Gordon Edwards, 27 April 2011  Canadians go to the polls on Monday May 2 to elect new representativesfor the House of Commons, Canada’s elected Parliament

Jack Layton is the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), which has received a very dramatic surge in popular support in recent days, a surge which is mainly felt in the province of Quebec but which is also being noticed across Canada. Continue reading →

April 30, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

Saskatchewan petition against nuclear fuel cycle

Petition against nuclear waste to go to Saskatchewan legislature – Winnipeg Free Press By: The Canadian Press 04/13/2011 SASKATOON – A group says it will present the Saskatchewan government with a petition calling for a law that bans nuclear waste.

The Coalition for A Clean Green Saskatchewan has a petition with more than 4,800 signatures. Spokeswoman Cathy Holtslander says the petition opposes nuclear reactors, uranium refineries, uranium conversion, reprocessing or nuclear waste storage and disposal facilities.

The coalition hopes the petition pushes the government to ban nuclear waste from being stored in the province.It also hopes it raises awareness of the issue.Saskatoon Nutana MLA Pat Atkinson will present the petition in the legislature Thursday morning.Petition against nuclear waste to go to Saskatchewan legislature – Winnipeg Free Press

 

April 14, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

Increased radiation in Ontario since Fukushima disaster

Radiation in Ontario higher since Japan crisis: officials TheRecord -, 12 April 11, TORONTO — Elevated levels of radiation have been found in Ontario since the Japanese nuclear disaster but health authorities say people should not be alarmed.On Tuesday, Energy Minister Brad Duguid said radiation levels have gone up slightly since a devastating earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan on March 11 crippling the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors.Some U.S. states have also found elevated radiation levels, Duguid said. But he added there is no reason for alarm here as officials regularly test the air, water and food.The news comes the same day that Japan increased the severity rating of the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant to the same level as the Chornobyl disaster…. TheRecord – Radiation in Ontario higher since Japan crisis…

April 13, 2011 Posted by | Canada, environment | Leave a comment

Ontario Power Generation’s flawed statement on nuclear power

the province has never completed an integrated power system plan that would establish the need for new generators…… The environmental impact statement submitted by OPG also fails to consider alternatives to a major nuclear project,

Law association argues nuclear approval process flawed – thestar.com, 4 April 11, John Spears Ontario Power Generation has failed to consider alternatives to building new nuclear reactors at Darlington, the Canadian Environmental Law Association argued Monday.That means it hasn’t submitted an adequate environmental impact statement under federal law, the association told a panel reviewing the proposal for new reactors.And that in turn means the panel isn’t in a position to recommend giving the go-ahead for OPG to proceed with preparing the site for construction, Continue reading →

April 5, 2011 Posted by | Canada, Legal | Leave a comment

Amti uranium concerns in Nanavut

(Canada) Japan’s reactor disaster raises Nunavut nuclear fears ,The Canadian Press  Apr. 3, 2011  The hall in the tiny Nunavut community of Baker Lake was packed last Thursday and the debate lasted all night and into the morning.The crowd of about 150 people — nearly 10 per cent of hamlet’s entire population — didn’t stop talking until 1:30 a.m.They were talking about uranium, a familiar subject in the community where French nuclear giant Areva has proposed a $1.5-billion mine for the radioactive metal.But this forum, one of several organized by the territorial government, was different than so many previous community meetings on the topic. About halfway through, an elderly Inuit man stood and asked the question that underlined why.

“His question was, if it’s so safe, why are people in Japan asked to leave their homes and not to come back?” recalled Sandra Inutiq, a member of a Nunavut anti-nuclear group. “If it’s so safe, why are people in Japan so scared?”

Nunavummiut have been asking whether they want uranium mining on their land for years……..Japan’s reactor disaster raises Nunavut nuclear fears – CTV News

April 4, 2011 Posted by | Canada, indigenous issues | Leave a comment

Canada’s former nuclear watchdog supports Greens

Former nuclear watchdog supports May, slams Tory minister. Ottawa Citizen, By Cindy Harnett, Postmedia News April 1, 2011 VICTORIA — Canada’s former nuclear watchdog threw her support behind Green party leader Elizabeth May on Friday, three years after she was fired by the Harper government……Keen was fired from her post as CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission after she forced a shutdown in late 2007 at a Chalk River reactor that provides vital isotopes for medical uses, and refused to restart it until safety systems were in place, despite intense political pressure……She also used the opportunity to link the nuclear issue to the crisis in Japan, where the Fukushima nuclear plant was badly damaged in an earthquake last month, and has leaked radiation to surrounding areas. “I think all Canadians can agree that there can be no short cuts or compromises on nuclear safety,” said May, who became friends with Keen after she was fired…….Former nuclear watchdog supports May, slams Tory minister.

April 2, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

How many $trillions is the nuclear industry going to cost?

No insurance company would — or will, or can — insure such risks. So who insures them? You do. Canada’s Nuclear Liability Act, proclaimed in 1976, caps the liability of nuclear operators at $75 million. Beyond that, the taxpayer pays.

Nuclear power is the worst option,  TheChronicleHerald.ca, By SILVER DONALD CAMERONSun, Mar 27 – “…….The first major unknown cost is insurance. Nobody knows what a catastrophic nuclear accident might cost. If the crippled Japanese reactors suffer meltdowns, how many lives will be lost, how many people will be injured, how much property will be rendered unusable? In 1996, informed observers speculated that the cost of a catastrophic accident at Darlington, Ont., could reach $1 trillion. Continue reading →

March 28, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Canada | Leave a comment

Uranium industry’s optimism doesn’t seem justified

insurance liability caps granted to the American nuclear power industry,  for example, produce an annual indirect subsidy of $33 million for every reactor in the United States…..liability costs to the Japanese government arising from Fukushima Daiichi, while still impossible to estimate, were presumably large, and might make other governments see that offering subsidies to renewable energy sources might be a comparative bargain…

Uranium Processor Still Optimistic About Nuclear Industry, NYTimes.com, By IAN AUSTEN : March 25, 2011 OTTAWA — On the same day earlier this month that the  Canadian company Cameco, a global leader in uranium mining and processing, gathered its executives from around the world for a strategic planning session, news broke of Japan’s staggering earthquake….. Continue reading →

March 26, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Canada, Uranium | Leave a comment

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is not independent

“In 2008, when the president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety  Commission CNSC (Linda Keen) tried to bring Canadian nuclear safety regulations in line with international standards, the government fired her,……The independence of the Commission has been compromised with the appointment of a pro-nuclear industry president”

Who controls nuclear control agencies? Japan’s earthquake caused a nuclear crisis which could be repeated in other countries .. Al Jazeera Stephen Leahy 23 Mar 2011 “…..Canadian connectionThe reactor buildings at Fukushima held up well, but there clearly was a problem with the back-up power for the cooling systems, says John Luxat, professor and Industrial Research Chair in Nuclear Safety Analysis at McMaster University, near Toronto. Continue reading →

March 24, 2011 Posted by | Canada, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste is the really most serious problem

nuclear waste lasts forever. That’s the real horror of Fukushima – that the spread of radioactive material could make an entire chunk of Japan uninhabitable. We could afford to be smug if we knew how to deal with our nuclear waste. But we don’t.

Forget meltdowns. The real nuclear problem is waste, thestar.com Thomas Walkom , 21 March 11, For Canada, the danger of nuclear power lies not in a Japanese-style meltdown. When industry boosters say such an event is unlikely here, they are right.

But what the boosters don’t talk about is radioactive waste.

That’s the main hazard, the part of the nuclear question that has never been properly addressed. No one knows what to do with nuclear fuel rods that remain highly radioactive for thousands of years.

The industry talks of burying them. But this is not a real solution. Sealed containers leak. Ground shifts. Over decades, unforeseen events occur. Continue reading →

March 22, 2011 Posted by | Canada, wastes | 5 Comments

Political push to close down Quebec’s nuclear plant

‘It’s not necessary to refurbish the plant at such an elevated price when Quebec has the means – through energy efficiency, renewable energy and its hydro electricity – to avoid nuclear.’—PQ Leader Pauline Marois……The PQ said it would immediately close the plant if it were elected.

Coalition fights Quebec’s nuclear plant – Montreal – CBC News, 21 March 11, A Quebec coalition of politicians and activists is calling for the permanent closure of the province’s lone nuclear facility in light of the crisis in Japan. The group says maintaining Quebec’s Gentilly-2 power plant is dangerous, given the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Continue reading →

March 22, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

Precedent set in weakening the rules for transporting radioactive waste on waterways

.. the precedent set when it comes to transporting radioactive waste…..On Feb. 4 of this year, the CNSC approved BP’s plans to ship the generators over­seas, giving the power company a special dispensation over existing regulations covering the amount of radioactive materials allowed on inland Canadian waterways. It’s a big dispensation too: Edwards says the amount of radioactivity in the shipment is 60 times the permissible amount of radioactive waste allowed in one vessel for inland waters, and six times the amount for an ocean-going one. Furthermore, an environmental assessment of the changed plans was never held…….

Swimming with plutonium, Montreal Mirror, by PATRICK LEJTENYI, 11 march 11, Ontario’s Bruce Power nuclear plant is shipping hundreds of tonnes of radioactive waste up the St. Lawrence. Critics worry this is only the first batch Continue reading →

March 11, 2011 Posted by | Canada, wastes | Leave a comment

83 MPs join opposition to nuclear garbage shipment across Great Lakes

We’re talking about nuclear garbage, and we’re going to have a highway of nuclear garbage. This shipment is going to be the first of many if we allow it to happen,”

Groups urge feds to stall ‘nuclear garbage’ shipment Eighty-three MPs sign petition Montreal Gazette, By CARMEN CHAI, Postmedia News March 9, 2011 Continue reading →

March 10, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics, wastes | Leave a comment

Wind, solar, race ahead – so WHAT “nuclear reaissance” is happening?

Ontario government…  investing in 40 additional wind and solar energy projects

it’s interesting to compare the global figures for how much nuclear, wind and solar power have been added over the last few years during what has been billed as a “nuclear renaissance.”

(Canada) Wind and solar power are leaving nuclear in the dust | Greenpeace International, 9 March 11, Keith Stewart, We often hear that wind and solar power are nice, but they can’t deliver the power that we need. So there were probably a few raised eyebrows last week when I was quoted (here and here) saying that “Wind and solar energy are the new Niagara Falls, as they can do a similar job of replacing polluting power from coal or nuclear plants to power a prosperous Ontario in the twenty-first century.” Continue reading →

March 10, 2011 Posted by | Canada, renewable | Leave a comment

Price dive for Uranium One’s product

Uranium One has year-end loss  The Calgary Herald March 8, 2011 . Uranium One Inc. reported a fourth-quarter loss of $148.2 million on Tuesday, compared with a profit of $179.6 million in the same period a year earlier. It said the loss was due to a series of one-time expenses.
The company, based in Vancouver and Johannesburg, said the loss amounted to 24 cents a share, compared with a profit of 38 cents a share during the fourth quarter of 2009…….

March 10, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Canada, Uranium | Leave a comment

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