Treaty 3 agreement with nuclear waste management group criticized by some leaders, elders
CBC
An agreement signed between Grand Council Treaty #3 (GCT#3) and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has raised the ire of some First Nation leaders and elders in the territory.
Treaty #3 passed a resolution last Wednesday at its chiefs assembly in Lac Seul First Nation to renew what it describes as an ongoing relationship with the organization – which is working to develop a deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants.
But the chief of Ojibways of Onigamiing First Nation, Jeff Copenace, criticized the agreement and accused the organization of not being transparent in how it was brought forward.
The text of the agreement wasn't even circulated at the meeting until a chief requested it, Copenace said.
"There's over a million dollars – $1.1 million, maybe almost $1.2 million – dedicated specifically for lawyers and legal fees, for nuclear sector experts and consultants," he said of the agreement.
"But there's only a couple hundred thousand dollars dedicated to engaging community members whose, again – these are the rights that they're trampling on. It's their treaty rights. It's not the chiefs'."
Copenace has worked in both government and the natural resource sector in the past, and he knows how industry proponents operate, he said.
"The fact that this agreement focuses on the long-term management of used nuclear fuel in Canada during an adaptive phased management site selection process is enough to have concern," he added.
Contacted for a response on Friday, Treaty #3 Territorial Planning Unit director Lucas King said the organization's office was closed for the day and referred CBC to its news release issued Thursday.
The release states that the agreement "does not consent or imply any consent to NWMO's Adaptive Phased Management (APM) project or its site selection process."
"The Chiefs in Assembly continue to support the Elders Declaration of 2011, opposing the storage of nuclear waste in Treaty #3," it said.
The agreement also does not constitute consultation on the nuclear waste storage project, it said.
"Our staff at Grand Council and our legal advice spent months ensuring this agreement in no way limited our options in regard to our relationship with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization," said Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh in the statement.
But a former grand chief of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 dismissed the idea that First Nations could take money from a project proponent and continue to oppose the project.
When people who are overweight and obese stopped taking their weight-loss medications they regained weight faster than those who stopped a diet or exercise program, a new review has found.
Amid concerns that businesses are profiting from Indigenous culture without always gaining the consent of the nation from which it originated, it raises the question of how to protect Indigenous intellectual property.
A spider with extra-long genitalia (for a good reason); a carnivorous caterpillar that wears its prey's body parts; and a tiny, mountain-dwelling opossum are among the cool new species described by science in 2025.
It’s like Amazon for hard drugs: cocaine, heroin and ecstasy, paid for with credit cards and e-transfers, delivered by Canada Post.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has added several Peace by Chocolate and NuttyHero products to its ongoing recall of pistachios possibly contaminated with salmonella.
Two Cree fashion designers who are inspired by family took the chance by leaving their home communities and are following their dreams.
When Eduardo Mercado first heard a humpback whale sing, he was fascinated by their rhythmic, moaning, haunting sounds.
The Northwestern Health Unit has confirmed its first case of measles in the region since an alarming rise in the spread of the disease began across the province and country — even leading to temporary outbreak status in Ontario.