IGNACE — A Japanese documentary crew’s visit last week is part of a huge surge in media attention for Ignace since its selection as host municipality for a nuclear waste management project, says a township spokesperson.
“The story has been picked up everywhere – across everything from Cottage Life to The Economist,” Jake Pastore, the township’s outreach lead, said Monday.
The Japanese science documentary series Galileo X sent a crew to the Northwestern Ontario community for an examination of how Ignace came to be selected to host a deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization, a federally mandated and industry-funded body, announced on Nov. 28 that a site between Ignace and Wabigoon Lake has been chosen for the $26-billion repository project.
Ignace is the project’s official host municipality while Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, on whose traditional territory the site lies, is designated as its host First Nation.
Construction could begin around 2033, depending on whether and how quickly the project clears regulatory and licensing hurdles.
Pastore said he has fielded queries from 40-50 media outlets since Nov. 28.
The documentary crew interviewed Ignace residents and officials, including Pastore, for a report slated to air in February on Japanese TV.
“We continue to be both amazed and overwhelmed with the positive interest that is being illustrated by so many other communities, stakeholders in the industry, agencies and media from across the world on this project,” Ignace Mayor Kim Baigrie is quoted as saying in a township news release.
“These positive advancements and marketing capabilities/opportunities for this community and our entire area are just the beginning of what we can expect to see over the course of the next decade. As we have stated before, this is truly the beginning of the future for our community.”
