Ontario town starts voting today on willingness to host 'forever' nuclear waste storage site

The small farming community of Teeswater, Ont., faces a massive decision. Starting today, its 6,000 residents will vote in a referendum on whether or not they're willing to host Canada's largest underground storage facility of spent nuclear fuel.

For Anja Vandervlies, who operates a 1,300-goat dairy farm nearby, it's a monumental decision for her town in the municipality of South Bruce, and an easy choice for her. 

"If we vote yes, we're stuck with this nuclear waste in the ground forever," said Vandervlies, a member of the opposition group Protecting Our Waterways – No Nuclear Waste. "This is the only time that we, as residents, are going to get a say in this whole process." 

A two-hour drive from London but less than 45 minutes from the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station on Lake Huron, Teeswater is one of two locations being considered to host Canada's largest permanent underground storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. 

Also under consideration is Ignace, a community of about 1,200, located 245 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay. Voters there have already said they're willing hosts; now it's Teeswater's turn to have its say. 

Voting will be conducted online and by phone over seven days. To be binding, a yes vote of 50 per cent plus one is required. If Teeswater votes yes, the board of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) will make a final decision between Teeswater and Ignace, likely before the end of this year. 

Once the site is decided, the $26-billion storage facility would be built in stages, with plans to begin accepting waste in the 2040s and continue storing it away underground for the next 175 years. 

The process also requires consultation from First Nations groups in both communities. Neither has officially made a decision. The Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation will vote in November. Opposition from Indigenous groups to the northern Ontario site is growing. 

Calls for comment to Saugeen First Nation Chief Conrad Ritchie were not returned on Friday.

Wherever it's located, the facility, which the NWMO calls a "deep geological repository" that would be located 600 metres underground, will take spent nuclear fuel from Canadian Candu reactors located as far away as Winnipeg. 

NWMO touts safety plan

In an interview with CBC, NWMO spokesperson Carolyn Fell pointed to a safety plan she said is based on extensive scientific research and reliant upon multiple layers of containment. 

"We are confident that it can be constructed safely and with the highest level of protection to people and the environment," she said. 

Running counter to the safety concerns is the significant windfall awaiting whichever of the two communities winds up hosting the storage facility. 

The host town would not only benefit from high-paying jobs, but also $418 million in subsidies from Canada's nuclear industry over the the course of the project. 

South Bruce Coun. Ron Schnurr didn't want to say how he's voting, opting instead to give the community its say this week.

However, he said the money would be a massive boost to a rural community with big infrastructure needs and a small tax base to pay for them. 

"If the project comes here, we hope it makes South Bruce a better place to live, as long as the people approve it, and hopefully we'll be able to keep up with the infrastructure better than a lot of other municipalities," Schnurr said.

To Vandervlies and others in the group opposing the facility, the risk far outweighs the potential reward of hosting the site. 

"When you look at the money, I don't think it's really significant when you look at the scope of this project," she said. 

The question

Voters will decide yes or no to the following question: 

• Are you in favour of the Municipality of South Bruce declaring South Bruce to be a willing host for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization's proposed Deep Geological Repository (DGR)?

Information about how to vote, how to get on the voters list and where to find a voter assistance centre is posted here. Voting closes on Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. ET.