To the editor,
Two articles (“South Bruce signs non-binding agreement with NWMO,” June 23 and “Ombudsman publishes report on closed meetings held by Bruce County’s executive committee,” May 24 ) and two letters (“An open letter to Dave Rushton” by Michelle Stein, June 23 and “It’s natural to be afraid” by Tony Zettel, June 16) in recent issues of the Walkerton Herald-Times served to reinforce my conviction that what is happening with the deep geological repository (DGR) project in South Bruce is just plain wrong.
While the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), Bruce Nuclear Exploration Team, South Bruce council and Community Liaison Committee all claim informed community willingness remains necessary for the project to be greenlit, they are doing their best to operate in secret. Improperly closing council meetings to the public, delaying release of information requests and failing to hold an appropriately timed referendum are a few examples.
In addition, the NWMO’s use of their financial might to ‘groom the community’ with $3.2 million to South Bruce so far, including money that is being used to pay the salaries of some municipal employees according to their treasurer, sets a terrible precedent for privatizing public services over time. Apparently, hundreds of thousands of dollars are going regularly to the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, who must consent as well. Google the CBC report “NWMO scammed” for breaking news on that one.
It was also reported in the May 24 Herald-Times, after an investigation, the ombudsman had concluded that Bruce County had improperly closed meetings to the public in violation of the Municipal Act. Interestingly, when doing some research, some of those meetings discussed the Nuclear Innovation Institute’s plans for locating a facility. When interviewed by the ombudsman, some councillors told the investigators they were closed because Bruce Power “wanted to keep it confidential” and it was to “protect the interests of Bruce Power.” Seems that in Bruce County, both upper and lower tier government toe the line when it comes to what the nuclear industry wants. Will the ombudsman be investigating lower tier South Bruce council next?
Any reasonable person has to conclude that this compromised and conflicted mess just doesn’t smell right.
Chris Palmer
West Grey
