Tag Archives: Northern Ontario

Ontario Town Votes Yes To Nuclear Waste Storage

Ontario Town Votes to Become a Willing Host for a Nuclear Waste Repository
Uranium pellets are shown during a tour of a Nuclear Waste Management Organization facility in Oakville, Ont., on Dec. 12, 2023. The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn
The Canadian Press

By The Canadian Press

Ontario Town Votes to Become a Willing Host for a Nuclear Waste Repository

A northwestern Ontario town has formally decided it is willing to become the site of a deep geological repository for Canada’s nuclear waste.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization plans to select a site this year where millions of bundles of used nuclear fuel will be placed in a network of underground rooms connected by cavernous tunnels.

The process for the $26-billion project had already been narrowed down to two sites, Ignace in northern Ontario and another in southern Ontario, and the NWMO says that both the local municipality and the First Nation in those areas will have to agree to be willing hosts.

Ignace, between Thunder Bay and Kenora, is now the first of those four communities to make its decision known, and town council voted in favour of it at a special meeting on July 10.

One of the many natural waterfalls found in Ignace, Ontario.

A committee of community members tasked with taking the pulse of the town’s willingness presented the results of a community vote and said that out of the 640 residents who voted, 495 or 77 percent voted in favor.

Neither of the First Nations has yet made their willingness decisions, and the municipality of South Bruce is set to hold a referendum in October.

Site for Canada’s Underground Nuclear Waste Repository to Be Selected Next Year

Ontario Partners With Bruce Power to Expand Nuclear Energy Generation Station

The current fleet of nuclear reactors in Canada will produce about 5.5 million used fuel bundles, with around 3.2 million already in either wet or dry storage on site at nuclear plants.

But the NWMO says the current containers of thick concrete walls lined on the outside with a steel plate are designed to last 50 years, so they are not a long-term solution.

The organization, funded by the corporations that generate nuclear power and waste, such as Ontario Power Generation and Hydro-Quebec, is instead planning to build a deep geological repository, as far underground as the CN Tower is tall.

The used nuclear fuel pellets, baked into ceramic, are contained in fuel rods made of corrosion-resistant Zircaloy. Those rods will be in containers made of carbon steel and coated with copper, and those containers will be packed into bentonite clay.

Opponents in the affected communities worry about safety, while proponents see value in the jobs and economic development the project will bring.

Ontario Supporting First Law And Architecture Schools For The North

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne (Lib) in Thunder Bay, ON home to new law school.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne (Lib) in Thunder Bay, ON home to new law school.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne attended the opening of two professional programs in Northern Ontario on September 4th, as part of her commitment to help young people in every part of the province prepare for promising careers.

Lakehead University’s Faculty of Law in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University’s School of Architecture in Sudbury are Northern Ontario’s first law and architecture schools, and the first of their kinds to open in the province in more than 40 years.

The schools will help Northern Ontario students enter the law and architecture professions, and study closer to their families and the communities where they grew up. There is currently a shortage of lawyers who specialize in Northern issues, and Lakehead’s new law school will help bridge that gap by focusing on issues such as access to justice in Northern and rural communities, as well as Aboriginal, natural resource and small- or single-practitioner law.

The Ontario government is committed to making smart investments that will help Northern Ontario’s economy grow and create more jobs.

“I want young people in every part of this province to be able to pursue their
dreams, find great careers and give back to their communities. These two exciting
programs bring new opportunities to a wonderful part of our province.”

—Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario

“A post-secondary education continues to be one of the most important investments
people can make in themselves and their future. Programs like these will help
prepare students in the North for the global economy, give them better access to
good jobs and help Ontario build the highly skilled and educated workforce it
needs.”

—Brad Duguid, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities

“These two new programs further establish Thunder Bay and Sudbury as destinations
for specialized post-secondary education and training. Our government is so proud to
be able to work with educational institutions in Northern Ontario to ensure we have
the infrastructure needed to educate the workforce of tomorrow.”

—Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development and Mines

Laurentian University. Main campus. photo: Google.ca
Laurentian University. Main campus. photo: Google.ca

 

QUICK FACTS

§  The Ontario government invested $1.5 million in Lakehead’s new Faculty of Law building, and $21 million in Laurentian’s new School of Architecture.

§  Approximately 57 per cent of Lakehead’s 60 new Faculty of Law students are from Northern Ontario. Laurentian’s inaugural School of Architecture class is comprised of 70 students.

§  Laurentian is the first Canadian school of architecture outside of Quebec to offer French programming. It also provides students with access to an Elder-in-residence, and several courses focused on Aboriginal teachings.

LEARN MORE

Find out more about Lakehead University’s Faculty of Law<https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/departments/law>.

Read more about Laurentian University’s School of Architecture<http://www.laurentian.ca/content/school-architecture-0>.

Disponible en français (Contacter le Silo)

Supplementalhttp://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2013/09/northern-ontarios-first-law-and-architecture-schools-open.html