The Saskatchewan government won’t allow nuclear waste storage near Creighton unless local and provincial opinion shifts strongly in favour of the controversial concept.
That’s the word from innovation and trade minister Jeremy Harrison, who also said current support for the concept falls below the required mark.
“In terms of the government’s position on this, the premier’s been clear in saying that at this point we’ve seen no overwhelming desire on the part of the public to have a waste storage [facility],” Harrison told a Jan. 16 public forum in Creighton, “and we’re not going to be, as a government, interested in going there unless there’s very, very significant public support for doing this. So it’s not on our radar at this
point as a Government of Saskatchewan.”
So is there a disconnect between a province that is not interested in nuclear waste storage and a community in that province actively learning about that very possibility?
Harrison began his response by saying he took part in a “good discussion” earlier in the day with Creighton’s mayor and council.
“They’re looking at, I think, with an open mind, options in this regard and they are, as a mayor and council duly elected by the citizens of Creighton, entitled to take a look at that,” he continued. “Like I said, the position of the province, though, is until we see a very clear desire on the part of the population to go forward, that we’re not going to be moving in that direction.”
Harrison, a former Creighton MP, said a “strong showing of support” would have to be apparent not only in the Creighton area, but also across Saskatchewan.
Such overwhelming support appears far from a reality in both the Creighton area and Saskatchewan as a whole.
A University of Saskatchewan survey released in May 2014 found that 56 per cent of respondents in the province opposed nuclear waste storage in Saskatchewan.
No scientific polls on the issue have been conducted specifically in Creighton, but nuclear waste opponents say they have found strong support with a petition campaign.
Perhaps more significantly, two of three First Nations with traditional claims on the territory outside Creighton are against storage. The concept requires Aboriginal approval to proceed.
Harrison’s statements mean that as of now, both of Saskatchewan’s major political parties oppose nuclear waste storage in the province.
The opposition New Democrats are also against the concept. Unlike the Saskatchewan Party, the NDP has not indicated its position would change if public sentiment turns favourable.
Harrison made his statements at a meet-and-greet with Thomas Sierzycki, the Cumberland MLA candidate for the Saskatchewan Party, held at the Creighton Community Hall.
When Sierzycki was asked for his position on storage, he did not say whether he supports or opposes the concept, nor did he mention public opinion.
“I definitely commend [Creighton] council for having an open perspective to get facts through the educational process,” Sierzycki said. “However, I can’t stipulate on speculation or anything like that. The community has the right to at least look at their opportunities, and when the time does come for anything to really translate into something that will happen, we’ll have to look at it then.”
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), tasked with finding a place to store Canada’s nuclear waste, is still likely years away from selecting a location.
The subterranean facility that will house the spent nuclear fuel rods is not expected to open until 2035 at the earliest.
Creighton has not applied to host the facility, only to learn more about the possibility of doing so.
