First Nations of North Shore of Lake Huron take strong stand against high-level radioactive waste dump proposal

Photo by Robert Del Tredichi of uranium tailings at Elliot Lake, showing devastating impact of radioactivity and toxic chemicals on the environmentAs announced in a media release, the North Shore Tribal Council of Lake Huron, representing 7 First Nations communities, has expressed its strong opposition to a bid by the City of Elliot Lake in Ontario to serve as a Canada-wide dumpsite for high-level radioactive waste. Elliot Lake remains severely contaminated after decades of a dozen uranium mines in its immediate area. The nuclear utility run Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has been put in charge of searching for a "volunteer host" for irradiated nuclear fuel, hazardous for millions of years. The North Shore Tribal Council said "Our statement to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization is: Do not waste your financial resources if you plan to conduct a study in this area because a nuclear waste dump is not going to happen here."

A 1998 book, republished in 2003, entitled "This Is Our Homeland," edited by Serpent River First Nation Members Lorraine Rekmans and Keith Lewis, as well as Anabel Dwyer, contains testimonials by First Nation and other survivors of decades of uranium mining at Elliot Lake.