Media Advisory – Press Conference – Tuesday August 21, 2018
A New Era: Abandoning Defunct Nuclear Reactors
The Government of Canada is spending billions on such projects and there are no national policies to stop this from happening.
Who:
Chief April Adams-Phillips, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne
Gilles Provost, Ralliement contre la pollution radioactive
Gordon Edwards, President of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility
Theresa McClenaghan, Executive Director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association.
Where: National Press Theatre, 150 Wellington St. Ottawa
When: 10:45 am – Tuesday, August 21, 2018
N.B. The press conference will be preceded by a briefing session starting at 10:00 am. Cameras are permitted for both the briefing and the press conference.
Why: One small item on the agenda for a meeting of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on August 22, 2018 in Ottawa has far-reaching and insidious implications.
At 1:30 pm, the Commission will discuss “Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) – Progress Update for CNL’s Prototype Waste Facilities, Whiteshell Laboratories and the Port Hope Area Initiative”. CNL is the multinational consortium that was contracted in 2015 by the previous Conservative government to quickly and cheaply reduce Canada’s $10 billion worth of federal nuclear legacy liabilities. With CNSC support CNL is turning federal nuclear reactor sites into permanent nuclear disposal facilities that flout international guidelines. This is a betrayal of earlier government promises to carefully dismantle reactors and return reactor sites to green field status.
Canada has no national policies for nuclear reactor decommissioning or associated nuclear waste management.
Forty First Nations, citizens groups, and NGOs are writing to the Auditor General of Canada to request an investigation into spending by NRCan, AECL and CNSC on nuclear decommissioning.
Additional Events:
“Into Eternity – Is Canada ready for the Age of Nuclear Waste” a public information session and Photo exhibit will be held on August 21from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at the Ottawa Public Library, Main Auditorium, 120 Metcalfe St.
A “Red Canoe March for Nuclear Safety” will begin in the public courtyard on the west side of Bank Street, between Laurier and Slater on WEDNESDAY August 22 at 10:00 am. First nations and NGO speakers will be available for interviews.
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Contact: Eva Schacherl, Media Liaison, Concerned Citizens ~ 613-316-9450