Dear Editor,
From Oct. 21 to 28, South Bruce residents face a pivotal choice, whether or not to be a willing host community for Canada’s Deep Geological Repository (DGR) for spent nuclear fuel. I’d like to encourage every one of my fellow South Bruce citizens to cast their vote in this crucial referendum. Here are three compelling reasons why your participation is vital.
1. With a modest voting population of about 4,800, each vote carries significant weight. For example, at 40% voter turnout, one couple voting would influence the result about 0.1% one way or the other. So your vote really matters!
2. The over-all voter turnout profoundly affects the legitimacy of the referendum. If more than 50% of voters participate, the vote becomes legally binding on council, which improves the credibility and authority of the result. Additionally, a higher voter turnout ensures that the result will accurately reflect the collective will of the people, which is the fundamental purpose of the referendum.
3. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) will consider this referendum, among other factors, to decide between Ignace and South Bruce, as the DGR site. Ignace has already voted strongly in favour. If South Bruce’s vote is close to an even split, it could influence NWMO’s final decision.
The most recent indicator of public support for the DGR is the 2022 municipal election, where the local opposition group ran a full slate of candidates for council, in an attempt to kill the project. In that election, about 60% of people voted, and the anti-DGR candidates generally lost by a margin of two votes to one. If that result extends to the referendum, the result could be 66% in favour of willingness. But this referendum could be significantly different. Over the past months, we’ve seen a very active and well-organized “No” campaign being run by the anti-DGR group and their supporters. These are people who put up yellow signs, donated money and attended rallies. You can bet most or all of them will come out to vote.
By contrast, many people I talk to are quietly in favour of the DGR, but some of them think their vote doesn’t matter that much. They figure that, since most people are in favour of the DGR project, a positive vote is a foregone conclusion. I hope this letter convinces them to vote. Your vote matters a lot.
The DGR willingness process in South Bruce has been going on for over a decade now. From Oct. 21 to 28, let’s all get out and vote yes or no. Let’s get a decisive result, put this decision behind us and move forward.
Tony Zettel, RR5 Mildmay
