Note: If you are seeing this page for the first time and the April 11 deadline has passed, feel free to write to the CNSC to tell them what you think, and copy your Member of Parliament.

On May 31st the final licensing hearing for giant Chalk River radioactive waste mound will begin. The Commission will hear interentions (10 minute presentations) from First Nations, NGOs, municipal representatives, citizens’ groups and others.

This will be the final opportunity for the public to comment on this flawed proposal that will endanger the Ottawa River when this mound leaks and disintegrates, which the proponent’s own studies show is inevitable. There are many good reasons to stop this dump. For a simple summary of six of the most compelling see this post.

You do not need to have any scientific or technical expertise to intervene. Your intervention/submission/letter can be short or more substantial. Some of the most effective interventions in past hearings have involved singing and/or strong visual images. You can present a slide show that could include a short video. Passionate pleas for common sense are good too! Let’s press the CNSC to uphold its mandate to protect the environment and current and future generations of Canadians.

Contact us if you would like more guidance than is contained in this post.

Please send a copy of your intervention to your Member of Parliament.

April 11 is the deadline to request to intervene 

Your request must include:

• Your written submission to be presented to the Commission
• Whether you wish to intervene with your written submission only or if you would also like to make an oral presentation during the hearings (oral interventions are RECOMMENDED as they have more impact on the commissioners; they can be any length under 10 minutes)
• Your name, address and telephone number

To Send: two options ~ send by email or use on-line form (link just below):

1.  Send via email to CNSC:interventions@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca

To identify your request, write in the subject line and as a heading:

May 31 Public Commission Hearing – Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Near Surface Disposal Facility

OR

2.  Use on-line CNSC Request Form

Date: May 31     Licensee: Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL)

Subject: Public Commission Hearing – Near Surface Disposal Facility

http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/the-commission/intervention/

What to expect: The Commission Registry will acknowledge receipt of your request to intervene and will later confirm if your intervention has been accepted by the Commission.

Your intervention will be given a Commission member document (CMD) reference number and will be added to the public record. Submissions will be publicly available on the CNSC website.

Reference material to possibly inspire your intervention:

Six Reasons to Stop the Ottawa River Radioactive Waste Dump

Critical Flaws, Errors and Omissions in CNSC staff’s case to approve the Chalk River Mound

Défauts, erreurs et omissions critiques dans le dossier d’approbation du monticule de Chalk River 

Nuclear regulator’s case to approve giant nuclear waste mound is fraught with serious errors and omissions, citizens’ groups say   

Selon des groupes de citoyens, les arguments de l’autorité de réglementation nucléaire en faveur de l’autorisation d’un gigantesque monticule de déchets nucléaires sont truffés d’erreurs et d’omissions graves

Media Release: February 16, 2022 ~ MPs and groups oppose hearings to license Canada’s first permanent radioactive waste dump. The media release in English and in French.

The statement referred to in the media release was sent to Ms. Rumina Velshi, CNSC President, and to the federal ministers of Environment, Natural Resources, Indigenous Services and Crown Indigenous Relations. 

OPEN LETTER To Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of the federal cabinet ~ Stop the Chalk River radioactive waste dump

LETTRE OUVERTE au premier ministre Justin Trudeau et au Conseil des ministres fédéral ~ ARRÊTEZ le dépotoir radioactif de Chalk River