BROAD COALITION PRESS CONFERENCE TO DENOUNCE THE CHALK RIVER NUCLEAR WASTE PROJECT

Montréal, May 26, 2025 – Kebaowek First Nation invites media representatives to a major press conference bringing together a powerful coalition of Indigenous leadership, major environmental organizations, municipal and regional elected officials, and members of opposition parties from both the federal and provincial governments. This united front will denounce the controversial Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) for nuclear waste at Chalk River and demand that the federal and Quebec governments take a firm and public stance against the project.

Speakers will highlight the unacceptable environmental risks, the ongoing violations of Indigenous rights and international law (UNDRIP), and the widespread mobilization of communities across Quebec and Ontario.

Prior to the press conference, media and guests are welcome to attend a special in-person and livestreamed panel discussion featuring Kebaowek First Nation and Indigenous Climate Action moderator who will explore the impacts of the NSDF project and will provide essential context.

WHAT: WHO:

Expert panel discussion – 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (ET) Press conference – 11:00 a.m. till noon (ET)

Panel discussion

• Chief Lance Haymond and Justin Roy from Kebaowek First Nation
• Algonquin leader Verna Polson of Kebaowek First Nation
• Forest Ecology and Environmental Researcher Rosanne Van Schie
• Onagoshi-Lila Haymond, Moderator and Operations Manager for Indigenous Climate Action Press conference

• Chief Lance Haymond and Justin Roy from Kebaowek First Nation
• Chiefs from the Anishinabe Nation
• Chief Francis Verreault-Paul of AFNQL
• Québec Solidaire and other opposition parties (provincial and federal)
• Elected officials from City of Montréal, others municipalities and MRCs
• Leading environmental organizations: Eau Secours, Fondation Rivières, Green Coalition, and others Monday, May 26, 2025
  

WHEN: The panel discussion will be broadcast live on Zoom here. The press event will also be broadcast live on Stop Nuclear Waste Facebook Page here.

WHERE:

Atrium, Maison du développement durable, 50 Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, Montréal, QC
The venue is accessible to media and the general public. Seating is limited, and journalists are encouraged to arrive early.

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Source: Kebaowek First Nation
For information and interview requests:

Kebaowek First Nation
Mathilde Robitaille-Lefebvre Media relations m.robitaille-lefebvre@seize03.ca 819-852-4762

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CCRCA comments:

We are immensely grateful to Kebaowek First Nation for its leadership in the fight against the NSDF megadump.  If this is how the Government of Canada thinks radioactive waste should be managed, the world should say “No to Nuclear” – especially from Canada.

The NSDF project was conceived to reduce as quickly and cheaply as possible the environmental liability of around 20 billion dollars in the Public Accounts of Canada created by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. 

That is why private companies contracted to run AECL’s nuclear sites want to put waste in a landfill next to the Ottawa River, as close as possible to the old nuclear reactors and other contaminated nuclear facilities at the Chalk River Laboratories.  Their top priority is to reduce the distance of waste transport – to minimize hauling costs.

Health, safety and the environment were given lower priority than cost savings.

The NSDF megadump fails to meet international safety standards. The NSDF environmental assessment found that nuclear facility types other than a landfill would release less pollution and have fewer impacts on the health and safety of people. It also found the site chosen would be worse for biodiversity than other sites.  

But the proposal was approved anyway by Canada’s nuclear regulator.  The CNSC never turns down nuclear industry projects.

AECL’s radioactive waste will last for time immemorial.  When the Government of Canada hired private companies associated with the U.S. military industrial complex to operate its nuclear sites and deal with its waste as cheaply as possible, the risks to the public became unacceptable, unjustifiable and unreasonable.

Should decisions about managing the Government of Canada’s nuclear waste be made by the military-industrial complex for its own profit and perpetuation?  No, of course not.

Is it possible to terminate the NSDF project and deal with this waste in a better way? Yes, we can do much better. “the federal government needs to act. This reckless plan has been moving forward on autopilot with no government oversight for far too long.  Thank you.