Editor’s note: The following is an open letter to South Bruce council.
The outcome of the willingness study on the deep geological repository (DGR) project told us the overwhelming result was a referendum.
I believe this was not the outcome council and NWMO wanted to hear.
This outcome was quickly overturned with a motion Dec. 14, 2021 by a council who seems to follow the NWMO’s mandate – no referendum this coming October with municipal elections.
It has been established this council cannot make a binding recommendation to the new council to give a referendum. There is a lot of confusion and I think that was the goal. South Bruce residents have the impression that they will get their say over time. For now, there is no referendum coming.
Looking back at the minutes from the South Bruce Community Business Association’s Dec. 4, 2017 meeting gives a different impression of the practice being used, and who makes the decision if we get the nuke dump (DGR) in South Bruce or not.
Coun. Mark Goetz suggested a sub group of people, that would include people from chamber, business association and municipality.
Dave Ireland “wondered how to convince people?”
SBCBA Chair Adam Ireland “suggested an advocacy group: DGR in our community, promotion rather than information now” and “an advocacy group would be a guiding force.”
CAO municipality of South Bruce Leanne Martin “agreed advocacy is good and this group is great to promote and share information.”
Jim Gowland, chair of the Community Liaison Committee, said “as 2018 elections are coming up it’s up to the community leaders to give recognition and they should make an electorate mandate to make decisions.” He is further quoted as saying, “The process is established, that the elected should move things from there, with dialogue.”
It was suggested that Adam Ireland, Dave Ireland and Jim Gowland meet before the next SBCBA meeting and discuss further.
I believe these “leaders” want to manufacture the outcome for the nuke dump. The willingness study was only done to pretend that the residents of South Bruce had a voice. Why are you performing in this NWMO circus? Who is influencing you and what is promised? Is it the mighty dollar, job offers, trips, power control, or status?
There is hardly any dialogue about the nuke dump during the open council meetings. Nobody asks the hard questions about the risks this experiment brings. Council, do you think we are blind and not noticing transparency failure?
There was such a hype created before the willingness study started that this was going to be telling us how willingness would be determined. The excuse, now used by a council that says we cannot have a referendum with the October 2022 municipal election, is we have not all the results back from the studies and borehole drilling. This is another tactic to push along and get South Bruce deeper and deeper in the lobster trap. The farther in you go, the less likely you can back out.
By ignoring the willingness study results and looking at the SBCBA minutes from December 2017 there appears to be a double agenda. Is there a small group of people (council) making the decision and everything possible is being done to derail the referendum vote process?
Council, we request that you reconsider your decision of Dec. 14, 2021 to not have a referendum at the Oct. 2022 municipal elections.
Do we live in a democratic municipality?
Our risk, our choice.
Gerald and Rita Groen
South Bruce
