Referendum sees razor-thin support from South Bruce residents to hosting Canada's nuclear waste
Unofficial count shows 51.2 per cent willing to have deep geological repository in area
A slim majority of voters in the Municipality of South Bruce say they're open to the idea of Canada's spent nuclear fuel being permanently entombed hundreds of metres below their community.
Voting in a week-long by-election on the matter concluded Monday night, with unofficial results showing a razor-thin majority in support for a plan to have a $26 billion deep geological repository built near Teeswater, Ont., about 170 kilometres north of London.
Asked if they were in favour of the municipality declaring itself a willing host, 51.2 per cent of voters, or 1,604 people, said they were, compared to 48.8 per cent against. To be binding, a yes vote of 50 per cent plus one was required.
In all, 3,130 people cast a ballot, a turnout of about 69 per cent, according to South Bruce officials.
Mark Goetz, South Bruce's mayor, wasn't available for comment Monday night, and in a brief statement, said only that the municipality was pleased voters had their say.
"It is an extremely proud moment to have our community make such a momentous decision through a democratic vote."
South Bruce council will receive the results at a special meeting on Nov. 12.
The municipality has been one of two locations under consideration by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) for the facility. The other, the Township of Ignace, about 245 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, has said it's a willing host.
The search for a safe permanent site for Canada's nuclear waste has been underway for more than 15 years. The organization is expected to make a final decision between the two communities by the end of the year.
Whichever community ends up being selected, the host town will see $418 million in subsidies from Canada's nuclear industry over the course of the project, along with the creation of hundreds of high-paying jobs.
The proposal still requires the support of local First Nations in the two communities. Opposition has been growing from Indigenous groups to the proposed Ignace location.
A request for comment to Saugeen First Nation Chief Conrad Ritchie was not returned by publishing time. The Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation is set to hold its own referendum next month.
The referendum results are a blow for those opposed to the plan, including the citizens' group, Protecting Our Waterways - No Nuclear Waste, which previously described the proposal as "untested, unsustainable, and… unwanted" in the community.
Anja van der Vlies, a local farmer and the group's co-chair, said the slim majority was not a compelling result.
"I'm just a little baffled by it all, how it all came about and how close the results are, and how that can be considered a compelling, willing host community. Like, those numbers are too tight," van der Vlies said.
Asked about the future of the group, she said the friendships that formed would continue, but their work fighting back likely wouldn't.
"Saugeen Nation, they still have to make their decision, and there's no date set for it. We can only hope that they are a little smarter than our community and vote it down."
As of last fall, the repository's construction was expected to start by 2033, with the site operational in the early 2040s. In a projection from 2021, NWMO estimated the project would cost $26 billion over its 175-year life cycle.
Once completed, the deep geologic repository will see more than 50,000 tonnes of spent nuclear waste, currently stored in temporary facilities in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec, transported to be stored some 600 metres below ground.
LISTEN | South Bruce residents vote whether to host nuclear waste storage site
The radioactive waste would be contained behind multiple barriers, including copper-coated steel containers, surrounded by a bentonite clay buffer, layers of concrete, and the 400-million-year-old shale and limestone around it that made the site a prime candidate.
"We are confident that it can be constructed safely and with the highest level of protection to people and the environment," an NWMO spokesperson told CBC News recently.
NWMO has estimated that roughly 650 shipments would be made to the repository every year from the temporary sites over a span of 50 years, either by road and/or rail, something which has led to transportation safety concerns.
Almost all, roughly 99.9 per cent, of used nuclear fuel in Canada comes from CANDU nuclear reactors in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec, according to NWMO.
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With files from Colin Butler and Andrew Lupton