CCAMU - The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium

CCAMU SPEECH ON PARLIAMENT HILL

Good morning … welcome, and thank you for coming to our press conference.

We are speaking to you this morning for two reasons:

1. To warn you that the City of Ottawa and parts of eastern Ontario could be exposed to radioactive pollution if uranium mines are allowed to be developed in cottage country west of Ottawa.

2. To repeat our call to Premier McGuinty and the Ontario government to take immediate action to live up to his promise to protect our environment. We are calling for a moratorium against uranium mining in eastern Ontario. This must be done NOW to prevent further damage to our environment.

Eminent scientists are very concerned about this threat. They have added their voices to our call for a moratorium. Dr. Syd Brownstein, a senior chemist working with the National Research Council of Canada, is here today and will speak to you shortly. Dr. Brownstein has extensive experience with the chemistry of radioactive materials.

Dr. Gordon Edwards, world-renowned expert in nuclear technology and founder of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, is our second expert. Dr. Edwards cannot by physically here today, but he has kindly allowed us to quote his assessment of the threat to Ottawa of airborne and water-borne radioactive pollution from potential uranium mining in the area north of Sharbot Lake.

Let me now introduce myself … my name is John Kittle, and I represent an organization called the Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium. CCAMU is made up of individuals and organizations from all walks of life who have come forward from communities as far afield as Ottawa, Frontenac, Lanark, Kingston, Peterborough and Toronto. We are all united in our resolve to work toward a peaceful resolution of this uranium crisis.

As you are no doubt aware, eastern Ontarians have been watching with alarm as claim staking and uranium exploration in eastern Ontario cottage country has been brought to their attention. To date, over 30,000 acres have been staked by mining companies. Exploratory drilling by one company was scheduled to start this summer.

Full-time residents and cottage-owners alike are frightened that uranium mining will bring radioactive contamination – that it will poison their land, their water and their air. They have watched, helplessly, as their property values dropped. They are afraid that as news spreads, tourists will stay away, and that this will further affect an already fragile economy.

Our First Nations neighbours, who look upon the land, both Crown and private, as a sacred stewardship, are also frightened by this threat and, I am sure you have all heard that they have taken direct action to stop it, and have asked the Premier to personally intervene.

Over 2500 people have signed a petition and a growing base of politicians and organizations at the federal, provincial and local levels of government have given us letters of support. We have also received written letters of support from 3 of the 4 candidates for our provincial riding … Liberal, NDP and Green. Several eastern Ontario township councils have already petitioned the province for a moratorium.

Many people assume that the effects of uranium pollution would be limited to those areas immediately adjacent to the site near Sharbot Lake. However, Dr. Gordon Edwards, a well-known authority on the long-term hazards of nuclear facilities, has detailed the impact that a potential uranium mine in eastern Ontario could have on the City of Ottawa. Here’s what he describes … I quote:

- Downwind radioactive fallout:
	Mining uranium releases large amounts of radioactive radon gas, which is much heavier than air. The radon will follow the path of the prevailing winds in eastern Ontario, from west to east, depositing solid radioactive fallout (mainly radioactive lead and polonium) on a wide swath of land from Sharbot Lake to the City of Ottawa and beyond. Such radioactive deposits, entering into the food chain, will pose a gradually accumulating health risk to the population – especially children.

- Downstream transport of radioactive particles:
	The abundant lakes and rivers north of Sharbot Lake drain into the Mississippi River, which itself empties into the Ottawa River, upstream from the City of Ottawa. This is a natural highway for water-borne radioactive materials, which will end up in Ottawa's drinking water.

- Inadequate monitoring for public health and safety:
	The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission that regulates nuclear energy and uranium mining has no health department, nor does it employ biomedical specialists or medical doctors. A 1980 report by the British Columbia Medical Association, entitled “The Health Hazards of Uranium Mining”, declared that the Atomic Energy Control Board was "Unfit to Regulate" due to its lack of medical expertise. The situation is no better today with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, successor to the AECB.

I will now introduce Dr. Syd Brownstein. Dr. Brownstein holds a PhD in Chemistry, and taught at Cornell University. He was also a member of the Ontario Hydro Safety Committee on Nuclear Fusion Reactors, and worked on joint projects involving the National Research Council of Canada, Atomic Energy of Canada, Eldorado Nuclear and the Atomic Energy Commission of France. … Dr. Brownstein …

… Thank you Dr. Brownstein …

This uranium situation is complex, dangerous, and its consequences far-reaching. It calls for nothing less than decisive, immediate action on the part of the Premier and the Government of Ontario. We are here, today, to say to our Premier – who is also the City of Ottawa’s foremost MPP:

“Mr. McGuinty, we believe that you are in a position to bring this crisis to a timely and peaceful resolution: the status quo is not the answer, nor is forging blindly ahead. Mr. Premier, we believe that only a moratorium will give us the time we all need for sober second thought. We therefore ask that the Government of Ontario call for an immediate moratorium on all uranium exploration and mining in eastern Ontario, while the ramifications on our health and the environment are investigated.”

We would like to point out that the Province of Nova Scotia has had a moratorium in place against uranium exploration and mining since the early 1980s. This resulted from an extensive commission of enquiry that heard testimony from over 185 experts, including Dr. Edwards and Elizabeth May. We ask Ontario to put a moratorium in place, using Nova Scotia as a precedent. We do not want an election promise … we want action NOW before any more damage is done to our environment.

In conclusion, I would like to announce that we are physically delivering our message, along with our petition, to Premier McGuinty’s constituency office, in Ottawa South, at 2:00PM today. The Premier has been invited to receive it personally, and then to brief us on the Ontario Government’s position on this issue. We hope he shows up.