South Bruce votes on being a nuclear waste storage site

On Monday, South Bruce will learn if it remains a potential site for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) deep geological repository (DGR).

Electronic voting for the municipality’s “willingness” referendum opened on Oct. 21 and will close at 8 p.m. on Oct. 28.

Registered voters will answer yes or no to the referendum questions: “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)?”

Why it matters: The nuclear sector must find suitable long-term below-ground storage for Canada’s low-to-intermediate nuclear waste.

In May, Municipality of South Bruce Mayor Mark Goetz told Farmtario that the electronic vote aligns with the Municipal Elections Act and requires a 50 per cent participation to be binding.

If voting fails to meet the threshold, Goetz told Farmtario in May, the decision would fall to the six councillors and the mayor.

“It’s too easy to point the finger down the road at seven people versus,” he said in the interview. “(When) everybody has the equal opportunity here to cast the vote and have an equal say.”

NWMO, a non-profit organization challenged with finding suitable long-term below-ground storage for Canada’s low-to-intermediate nuclear waste, has signed host agreements with Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) – South Bruce and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON)-Ignace.

The Township of Ignace voted 77 per cent in favour of moving forward, but the WLON community has yet to put the question to their community.

Carolyn Fell, NWMO regional communications manager for South Bruce, said the organization plans to make a final decision by the end of the year.