Revoke Chalk River NSDF licence
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to issue a directive under s.19(1) of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act ordering the CNSC to revoke the NSDF licence for Chalk River.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would halt a planned disposal facility 1.1 km from the Ottawa River, addressing petitioners' stated risk to a major drinking-water source.
- It would press for respect of Indigenous consultation after petitioners say Kebaowek First Nation did not give free, prior and informed consent.
- It would compel further environmental review because petitioners allege inadequate Species at Risk compliance and a limited alternatives analysis.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Revoking the licence could remove an approved near‑surface disposal option and delay implementation of any replacement waste-management plan.
- A government directive under s.19(1) may be viewed as political interference in technical decisions of an independent regulator.
- The petition's issues might be addressed by targeted remedies — additional consultation, more site options or environmental compliance measures — instead of full revocation.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) approved the amendment to the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) license at Chalk River for the construction of a Near Surface Nuclear Disposal Facility (NSDF) without getting the free, prior, and informed consent to the consultation process of Kebaowek First Nation, as per United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and without properly following the Species at Risk Act; This NSDF would hold over 1 million cubic metres of nuclear waste - waste that could take approximately 300 years for the radioactivity to wear off, and would be built a mere 1.1 km from the Kichi Sibi (Ottawa River) - where 2 million people get their drinking water from; CNL has not proven that they considered all reasonable alternatives or justified why the chosen site was the best. CNL only looked at sites owned by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), without analyzing whether non-AECL land might offer advantages; and We should all be standing in solidarity with Kebaowek First Nation against this proposed NSDF on their land, as it poses a risk to the water, forests, animals and people. We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to issue a directive under Section 19 (1) of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act to order the CNSC to revoke the licensing of the NSDF at Chalk River.
Government response
No government response is available yet.