Tonight’s meeting at Nairn’s community centre was filled to capacity with close to 200 people in attendance.
The first two hours were taken up with presentations by the Ministry of Mines (which owns the Agnew site therefore it is considered Crown Land), Ministry of Transportation and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission focusing on the background leading up to the proposal of transporting naturally-occurring radioactive material, commonly called NORM, from three sites on Nipissing First Nation (from the former Beaucage Mine) to the Agnew Lake Tailings Management Area.
The Ministry of Mines representative admitted there had been no public consultation about the plan, which was proposed back in 2017.
His counterpart says there had been some discussions with Sagamok Anishinabek, Serpent River, and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nations but none of that information was released to the wider public.
In the end, the public had two key questions: If the material is safe, why does it have to be moved in the first place and will the proposed transport be halted until a public consultation process with all stakeholders takes place?
There was no clear answer to either question.
However, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission representative says a Regulatory Oversight Report focusing on both closed and active mines is expected in January of next year.
A Northwatch advocate (founded in 1988, Northwatch is an advocate for environmental protection and public participation in environmental decision-making in northeastern Ontario) says the municipalities should apply for funding to address environmental and transportation concerns directly to the commission.
The two ministries now state they welcome all feedback and information from the public on the project, and all the information gathered will be considered as they ‘determine next steps and timelines.”
The Township of Nairn and Hyman and Baldwin Township has also put together a joint petition calling for an open public consultation process, which will be presented to the Legislative Assembly later this fall. It also calls for a halt to the project until the consultation process is completed.
It is available at the municipal offices.
Any questions about the Agnew Lake area can be directed to the Ministry of Mines by email at: minerehab@ontario.ca
Any questions on the transportation of the material can be directed to the Ministry of Transportation by email at NEConstruction@ontario.ca
The member councils will discuss their next moves at their next regular meetings.
Photos by Rosalind M Russell
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