First Nations and Bloc want Quebec to take a clear stand against Chalk River

Photo: Sean Kilpatrick The Canadian Press Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sept. 9, 2024, about the new Chalk River nuclear waste management facility.

The Quebec government should make clear its opposition to the federal Chalk River nuclear waste dump project, say Indigenous representatives and the leader of the Bloc Québécois.

“The call to take a stand against the Chalk River nuclear waste dump is for everyone. Including the Quebec government, all parties in the National Assembly,” Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Monday.

His party held a press briefing in Ottawa to reiterate its call to stop the proposed nuclear waste dump in Chalk River, near the Ottawa River that serves as the border between Ontario and Quebec. He was accompanied by Kebaowek Algonquin Nation Chief Lance Haymond and Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) Chief Ghislain Picard.

The latter asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to demonstrate that the most important relationship for his government is the one with Indigenous peoples — as he claims — by rejecting the project. He also invited the Quebec government to speak on behalf of the Algonquin nation, which is opposed to the project and whose traditional “unceded” territory spans both provinces.

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“The Quebec government should take this into account [the opposition of this Nation to the project], and most certainly at least express a position,” added Chief Picard.

The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) government has not officially taken a position on the project. At most, its Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, says he has shared his “concerns” with Ottawa on this subject, and is asking in particular for better consultations with Indigenous people. Québec solidaire and the Parti québécois asked him to take sides.

In Ottawa, the Bloc Québécois has been pushing the issue of opposition to the Chalk River nuclear waste site for several years, particularly out of fear of contamination of the Ottawa River, a major tributary of the St. Lawrence River.

“There are people in the [Quebec] government that I have spoken to and who share my position,” Yves-François Blanchet said. “I hope that this can become a formal position that will influence Ottawa.”

For its part, the Kebaowek community has gone to court to block the project, arguing that Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) has conducted only “superficial” consultations with Indigenous peoples. Its leader Lance Haymond also alleged Monday that the project’s proponent is violating the Wildlife Act by blocking access to black bear dens.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) authorized the construction of “a near-surface waste management facility” at the Chalk River Laboratories site in January. About 100 municipalities along the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers, including Montreal and Gatineau, are publicly challenging the decision.