A petition calling on the federal government to provide oversight of a nuclear waste burial project has been tabled in the House of Commons.
Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota filed it with the clerk last week.
Over 3,300 people signed the petition created by North Bay-based Northwatch project coordinator Brennain Lloyd.
The petition looks to require the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to demonstrate that it has the consent of residents and communities along the transportation route and around the candidate repository site before selecting a site.
Lloyd says Canadians expect a fair and accountable process when it comes to projects of this size, risk and long-term consequence.
“The NWMO has said repeatedly that they will only proceed with an “informed and willing host”, but the communities along the transportation route are “hosts” to the same risks,” Lloyd says.
She adds those living downstream and along the transportation route are shut out of the organization’s site selection process and Ottawa needs to correct that.
Officials say the NWMO has been searching for a site since 2010 and has been focused on two potential host municipalities since 2020, including the municipality of South Bruce in Southwestern Ontario, and the Township of Ignace in Northwestern Ontario.
A federal government response to the petition is required within 45 calendar days.
