The chief of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation is among some northerners happy to hear Saskatchewan will not be the host of a nuclear waste storage facility.
On Tuesday, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization eliminated Creighton as a possible site. According to the NWMO, geological studies had confirmed the area around Creighton was not suitable for the project.
PBCN Chief Peter Beatty says he was happy to hear that Creighton was off the list.
“I think it is important we protect the environment in the interest of our future generations,” said Beatty. “We consider ourselves as First Nations to be stewards of the land, so to have nuclear waste buried in our traditional lands was not something we supported.”
PBCN had issued a Band Council Resolution in May of 2014 against nuclear waste and any promotion of its storage and transportation. The Cree Nation said that jobs forecasted by NWMO were not worth the risk of radiating the water and land for future generations.
The Committee For Future Generations has also been outspoken against the waste facility in northern Saskatchewan. The committee formed in May, 2011 in response to the proposed facility.
“Grassroots is powerful,” said committee member Max Morin. “We need to push our leaders to invest in energies and economies that are sustainable, like solar, wind and geothermal. We have the knowledge and the means to do it.”
With Creighton off the list, no other Saskatchewan communities are being considered for the nuclear waste facility. Pinehouse and English River First Nation were eliminated from the list in 2013.
Nine communities in Ontario are still being considered for the project.