IGNACE — Two people have been officially added to the Ignace delegation to Finland, bringing the total to 10.
Ignace Township Council voted to accept the recommendation from the Willingness–Ignace Nuclear Liaison Committee to lengthen the delegation list for a trip to Finland in two weeks to see the Nordic country’s nearly completed Onkalo nuclear waste facility.
The junket, paid for by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, will give Ignace residents more information on which to decide whether they want a “deep geological repository” for spent nuclear fuel in their area.
Ignace and South Bruce — with First Nations near each municipality — are the two finalists for siting an eventual deep geological repository for waste fuel from nuclear power plants.
With Ignace council’s vote on Monday evening, Jody Waldock and Brad Greaves join the eight delegation members previously named.
“I consider myself a supporter for finding a safe solution for storing our used nuclear fuel,” Waldock, program manager at Crossroads Employment Services, said Tuesday.
The mother of two once lived near a nuclear power plant in southern Ontario. After more than 15 years living away from Ignace, she moved back to her old hometown with her husband and their twins about five years ago.
She has toured the Bruce nuclear power plant and seen how spent fuel is currently being stored. It seems safe, she said, but there’s a need for longer-term solutions.
“We are growing on a national level in terms of our energy use and I feel there is going to be expansion throughout our country, especially with the SMRS (small modular reactors) coming into place,” she said.
“And I feel, you know, it might be a good idea to come up with other solutions that may be a bit more permanent. So I definitely support, you know, the exploration and trying to find other solutions.”
Waldock is active in her community, not just at Crossroads but also in skating, soccer and other recreational activities for children and youth. Community economic development is important, she said, and a deep geological repository could be part of that.
“If this moves forward, we could see a boost in our economy — and that’s something we need.”
The township put up a notice on its website Oct. 7 inviting applicants to “represent the community” in the Finland trip, which has an itinerary that includes tours of the Onkalo deep geological repository and a nuclear power plant. The deadline to apply was Oct. 12.
NWMO spokesperson Vince Ponka described the trip as a vital step in Ignace’s “willingness process” of deciding whether it wants to host a repository.
