Important Update from the Joint Chiefs and Councils to SON Members

Jan 22, 2025

A moratorium on nuclear intensification and waste importation will be enforced if no progress on legacy issues is made within six months.
Read the full statement below:

Moratorium on nuclear intensification and importation of waste if no progress on legacy issues

We write to you to share an important development regarding the nuclear legacy issues. As you know, efforts to resolve the nuclear legacy issues has been one of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation’s (SON) key priorities for years. We have heard your concerns that progress must be made on this matter and have developed a plan of action to have them addressed.

The Joint Chiefs and Councils adopted a resolution that it will issue a moratorium on the continued nuclear intensification of Anishinaabekiing, including the continued importation and storage of nuclear wastes, if substantial progress has not been made towards the resolution of nuclear legacy issues within six (6) months. We will enforce this moratorium by all legal and political means necessary until a just and satisfactory resolution is in place. Accordingly, the Nuclear Advisory Committee has been directed to pursue the resolution of legacy issues through agreements with Ontario Power Generation (OPG), the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), other private nuclear industry operators, as well as the federal and provincial governments, and to report back to Joint Council on progress made by May 2025.

For many decades our lands have been exploited for the production of nuclear energy and storage of radioactive waste. This occurred without consultation or SON consent. Today, our Territory holds the vast majority of Canada’s nuclear waste and hosts one of the largest nuclear facilities in the world. Even now, following the announcement by NWMO that it will seek to build a deep geological repository (DGR) for used fuel in the north, SON is expected to continue to host the used fuel for another 60 years without our consent and without redress while the DGR undergoes the assessment process, licensing and permitting processes, and construction.

It is unacceptable that we continue to face inaction from OPG and other members of the nuclear industry and government in addressing these injustices for the SON People. Their repeated failure to uphold commitments is an ongoing affront to SON’s rights. Our Joint Chiefs and Councils have taken a strong stance: we will not allow the exploitation of Anishinaabekiing to continue without a fair and just resolution. Our rights to govern our lands, to safeguard our People, and to make critical decisions about nuclear waste within Anishinaabekiing will not be compromised.

We stand firm in our call for respect, equity, and real action. The Joint Chiefs and Councils have a deep and solemn responsibility to protect this Territory for our People and for all people that share our lands and waters. We take this responsibility seriously. We will continue to provide you with updates on this issue over the coming months.

NT4