Anishnabek Nation logo. See http://www.anishinabek.ca/.As reported at the Canadian Newswire, Anishinabek Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee, speaking on behalf of 39 First Nations in the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI), said in response to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's Feb. 4th approval of the shipment of 16 radioactive steam generators from Bruce Nuclear Power Plant upon the waters of the Great Lakes: "The [Canadian] Supreme Court has stipulated the requirement for consultation and accommodation with First Nations...First Nations have to be accommodated on activities that could have an impact on our traditional territories. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples says handling of hazardous materials in our territories requires our free, prior, and informed consent...When it comes to transporting nuclear wastes through such an important resource as the Great Lakes, there is no such thing as too much consultation. Look at what happened with the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. It's irresponsible to take chances with the transport of hazardous goods, and I'm sure all Canadians would like to think that their federal government is concerned about their safety...The Great Lakes were never negotiated by treaty and we have inherent and treaty rights to all our waterways. Neither the Nuclear Safety Commission nor Bruce Power can guarantee that a disaster will not happen with this shipment. The spillage of any hazardous waste would infringe on our constitutionally-protected rights to fish, hunt, and gather lake-based traditional foods and medicines." The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its political advocate and secretariat in 1949. The UOI's 39 member communities across Ontario represent approximately 55,000 people. UOI is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires that have existed long before European contact.
President Obama's proposed 2012 energy budget would triple nuclear power loan guarantees from the $18.5 billion already appropriated to $54.5 billion. Obama is asking for an additional $36 billion in 2012 above the $18.5 billion. This mirrors a similar goal articulated in Obama's 2010 State of the Union address but successfully blocked last year. The budget also includes $67 million to develop designs for “small modular reactors." On the brighter side, a program that would study how to extract oil from tar sands was defunded. Beyond Nuclear remains on the front lines in efforts to block authorization and appropriation of loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants and we encourage all reading this to contact their Congressional representatives and urge them not to approve legislation that gives away this unnecessary nuclear pork at taxpayers' expense.
February 14, 2011
