THE ALGONQUIN ANISHINABEG NATION

LA NATION ALGONQUINE ANISHINABEG

Abitibiwinni - Eagle Village - Kitcisakik
Kitigan Zibi - Lac Simon - Long Point - Wahgoshig

CNSC CCSN
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
280 Slater Street,
11111 !1111111111111111111 <Personal Information Redacted>
Ottawa, ON 5256088
KlP SS9

Re: Disposal of Radioactive Waste at Chalk River, and the consultation process

To the members of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission:

The Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council stands firmly with the Assembly of First Nations of
Quebec and Labrador against the disposal of radioactive waste at the Chalk River Site. We cannot
accept the risk to the Ottawa River system, and to our traditional territories. The consultation process
that is currently being undertaken is not sufficient, and we have serious issues with regards to the
funding being provided, the timelines to review the material and the lack of information in both official
languages.

As you are aware, any leakage into the Ottawa River shed would be calamitous to the environment. The
potential impacts on our traditional territory are severe, and it would affect our people for many
generations to come. As stewards of the land, we cannot accept the inherent risk associated with the
storage of radioactive waste within our traditional territory.

The funding being provided by the CNSC is not sufficient to allow proper consultation. We had
estimated that a proper consultation would cost at least $70,000 so that we can properly meet with
simultaneous translation, so that the documents received and produced could be translated and so that
we could hire our own experts to advise us. In the end, only $20,000 was provided, which is not close to
what we need to cover the cost of a proper consultation. With this amount we are only able to meet
once, we cannot translate our documentation and we must use research being provided to other
organizations. This does not allow us to meet with the experts, so that we may have our questions or
concerns raised or answered. We are not even able to afford a study how this could affect our
aboriginal rights, which are protected by the laws of this country. The Federal Government has a duty to
consult and accommodate First Nations, and we insist that this is not proper consultation.

We call on the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to remedy this situation .

•
<Personal Information Redacted>

Verna Polson
Grand Chief
Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council

81 Kichi Mikan • Maniwaki, Quebec· J9E 3C3

Tel.: (819) 449-1225 ·Fax: (819) 449-8064 ·Email: info@anishinabenation.ca
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