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JUNE 11th , 2008 |
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IN THIS ISSUE: 1) UPDATE ON THE ROBERTSVILLE PROTEST 1) UPDATE ON THE ROBERTSVILLE PROTEST The Sunday, June 15th gathering at the Robertsville site has been cancelled. Plans are being made for an event on June 28th. CCAMU will keep you posted as these develop. In the meantime there are other events CCAMU will be participating in over the next few weeks. See item #7 "CCAMU WILL BE AT THESE UPCOMING EVENTS" for details. 2) SHABOT OBAADJIWAN PRESS RELEASE June 11, 2008 Dear friends and allies, These past several months have been a very busy time for everyone involved in the anti-uranium struggle. As leaders of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, we want to stay in touch with our friends and allies, and keep you informed of our ongoing part in this struggle. First of all, we join with you in celebrating the recent
Appeal Court decision which freed our colleague Bob Lovelace and stayed
the fines against our sister community, the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation.
Along with the dropping of all pending contempt charges, this represents
a further victory in the fight against a uranium mine in this area. Then came that critical court date in February. In the days leading up to that, we agonized over the ugly dilemma we were faced with. Really, none of the options were acceptable. We went back and forth and around and around many times, debating and struggling within our Aboriginal community, our families and within ourselves. Both of us were willing to go to jail if that was going to be the best way to keep up the fight against the uranium threat. In fact, we didn't even make a final decision until we met with our lawyers at court that morning. At that point, in order to continue the struggle, the key was for Shabot Obaadjiwan to stay in the legal arena somehow, so as to be able to put forward our arguments where they could make a real and lasting difference. Ultimately we agreed to refrain from blocking Frontenac Ventures at the site while we pursued political and legal ways to stop a mine from happening. We've taken a huge amount of flak for that decision - from some of you, from others, even from some of our own people. That's been very hard. But we have put a lot of time and energy over these past months into ensuring full discussion within the Shabot Obaadjiwan community, and our recent elections have shown that we have the people's overwhelming support. In fact, whenever we sit down to talk about these things with people who have challenged us, the understanding and trust are built up. When we were all at the Site, that was happening constantly. The situation kept changing and new problems came up practically every day, but we'd sit around the fire or gather in the Trailer and talk things through. There'd be stories, and laughter, and understanding - and the renewed resolve to carry on. It's sad that since February we've not had those opportunities for sharing with all of you. Written words can't fully replace that kind of daily sharing that kept us together at the Site. But they are one way to help fill the communication gap. And we will be doing more of it, writing updates for our friends and allies, as well as finding other ways to come together again to carry on the struggle and to celebrate what has already been accomplished. We are asking you to be patient with us as we pursue the fight on the legal and political fronts to put a stop to uranium development in this beautiful area that is home to us all. Because of the delicate nature of the discussions we are having, we need to keep details confidential until we have reached some level of agreement. But there will soon be more news of the progress we hope to make. We are cautiously optimistic - and we won't give up! We are so grateful for all your support and understanding. Megwetch, Doreen Davis, Chief Earl Badour Sr, War Chief June 9, 2008 The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) is outraged that Frontenac Ventures Corporation (FVC) insists on proceeding with drilling for uranium, when the community will never allow the development of a mine at Robertsville, north of Sharbot Lake. CCAMU expresses its strong and continued opposition to drilling for uranium. We support our Algonquin Aboriginal neighbours, in their efforts to stop the drill. As well, we support the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, in their call for FVC to remove their personnel and equipment, forthwith. Further, we support the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, in their effort to intervene through legal and political channels. CCAMU members are requesting that the Ministry of Natural Resources release their inspection report from July 2007 and immediately enforce Ministry regulations concerning infractions. We call on the Ministry of Northern Development & Mines to monitor any drilling activity. The courts have been used in an attempt to threaten and intimidate everyone involved. While the costs have been huge for many of us, the effort continues to be worth the time, energy and employment lost. We have seen community members charged, appear in court, fined, sentenced and put in jail for peaceful protest. These actions have renewed the commitment of community members to oppose uranium drilling. 4) CCAMU CALLS FOR AN INSPECTION OF THE ROBERTSVILLE EXPLORATION SITE It has come to CCAMU's attention that Frontenac Ventures Corporation has committed a number of infractions during its exploration at the Robertsville site. We encourage people to contact Vince Ewing of the Ministry of Natural Resources and ask that these issues be addressed.-LD Mr. Vince Ewing Dear Mr. Ewing, I am writing on behalf of the Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) to follow up - urgently now - on the matter of reported infractions of environmental requirements in the area staked for uranium exploration by Frontenac Ventures Corporation. In July 2007, a number of infractions were reported to your Ministry, including material deposited in fish-bearing waters, and damage to vegetation, potentially including species at risk. I understand the MNR was investigating these matters, as indeed it is required to do. It will soon be a year from the time of the initial report, and operations are continuing in the same area. It is therefore a matter of urgency for CCAMU that we be informed of the results of the MNR's investigation, and that the Ministry take immediate steps to enforce the environmental protections that are so important for the sustainability of this land. Thanking you in advance for your prompt and detailed reply. Regards, Marilyn Crawford 5) PETERBOROUGH COUNCIL AGAINST URANIUM MINING IN WATERSHED The Peterborough Examiner Tuesday, June 10, 2008 By: Brendan Wedley "City council wants the province to halt uranium exploration, mining and related processing in the Otonabee River watershed to protect the city's water supply. Council, sitting as committee of the whole last night, supported a motion presented by an anti-nuclear group -- Safe and Green Energy." To read the rest of this article go to, CCAMU is updating the "Quick Action Phone List." The "QAPL" is a phone tree that is activated by CCAMU members to inform its people of urgent developments. If you are not already on this list and would like to be, please forward your contact info to uraniumnews@mail.ccamu.ca or simply reply to this email. Note: Once your name is on this list you may be contacted at anytime regarding issues that usually require an immediate response. 7) CCAMU WILL BE AT THESE UPCOMING EVENTS Bruce Cockburn Concert For Bob Lovelace
Kiwi Garden event in Glen Tay (Just outside of Perth) Skeleton Park Music Festival in Kingston Art of Being Green in Lanark (Clyde Waterfront Park)
WestFest in Ottawa OCAMU Vigil Ont. Liberal Party AGM Greetings: Most of us are familiar with the "Find the differences" pictures on the comic page of newspapers. I recall sitting with my daughter Julia on my lap from when she was five or so until her early teen years, peering at the two pictures, which, at first glance appeared to be of the same things. After looking intently, taking in every detail, looking back and forth, the differences would emerge one by one. Imagine now, putting two web sites in front of grown individuals who have had this challenge clearly recollected from memories. The two web sites would deal with the same material, but present them in different ways. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited For students, it would be a good research experiences. Find details on each site that deal with the same components of the technology and identify how they are presented differently. The Sierra Youth Coalition, Young Greens and any other group that is inclined to play the game could explore these sites and see who can find the most differences. As a game, it could provide some interesting information for the task of putting the Nuclear Gene back in its bottle. Yours, Mike Nickerson 9) ARTICLE: STUDY ABOUT CANCER LINK TO URANIUM MINING TO BE RELEASED THURSDAY The Spectrum June 9, 2008 MONTICELLO - The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) will
present the findings of a study Thursday evaluating the rate of cancer
incidence linked to uranium mining in southeast Utah. >From 1943 through 1960, a uranium and vanadium processing mill operated just southeast of Monticello. The mill site and surrounding properties were considered public health hazards and were National Priorities List sites. Remediation of contaminated soils from the mill site and affected areas surrounding mill property was completed in 2000." To read the rest of the article go to, http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080609/NEWS01/ 10) ARTICLE: DOWN IN THE DUMPS: CANADIAN PLAN TO STORE PLANTS' WASTE NEAR HURON PROVOKES OUTRAGE By Chad Selweski Macomb Daily Staff Writer June 8, 2008 "Macomb County officials are leading the charge in opposition to a proposed nuclear waste dump near Ontario's Lake Huron shoreline, upstream from the county's drinking water plants. The Canadian plan calls for an underground repository to store waste from 20 nuclear power plants. The waste dump would be located less than a mile from Lake Huron, adjacent to a large, waterfront nuclear power site with two electricity-generating plants." To read the rest of this article go to, http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/060808/loc_local02.shtml 11) ARTICLE: CAMECO PLEDGE ON URANIUM MINE A MAN who has negotiated leases on both sides of the table was in Alice Springs last week for mining giant Cameco's first official talks with traditional owners of the proposed Angela-Pamela uranium mine site south of the town. By: Daniel Burdon June 10, 2008 "Indigenous Canadian Gary Merasty, a former Cree
tribal chief, is vice-president of Cameco's newly-formed corporate and
social responsibility department. To read the rest of this article go to, http://www.centralianadvocate.com.au/article/2008/06/10/2981_news.html 12) ARTICLE: SCRUBBED REACTOR PLAN MAY COST AECL MILLIONS The Globe And Mail June 6, 2008 By: Shawn McCarthy "OTTAWA -- Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. faces a penalty of up to $150- million for killing the problem-plagued reactor project designed to supply medical isotopes to a private sector partner, says a newly released government memo." To read the rest of this article go to, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080606.wraecl06/ Taken from "Science Matters" a weekly column by David Suzuki with Faisal Moola. June 7, 2008 One could be forgiven for thinking we've overcome the problems associated with nuclear power. Everywhere you turn, nuclear is being touted as a "green" energy source and a solution to global warming. Our prime minister recently sang the benefits of both nuclear power and uranium mining in a speech to a business crowd in London, England. "As the largest producer of uranium, we can contribute to the renaissance of nuclear energy, a no-emissions source that will be expanding here in Britain and around the world," Stephen Harper said. If only it were so easy. Those of us old enough to remember Chernobyl and Three Mile Island also remember a time of concern about nuclear waste, nuclear-weapons proliferation, accidents at nuclear power plants, pollution from uranium mining. Have those problems gone away? Has science found a way to deal with them? Unfortunately, the answer is no - and those aren't the only problems. Nuclear power is also expensive and heavily subsidized by taxpayers' money, and it isn't even totally emissions-free. Although nuclear energy's ability to provide large-scale continuous power makes it tempting, we have better ways to deal with our energy needs. To start, waste from uranium mining and nuclear power plants is a serious issue, especially considering that much of that waste is highly radioactive. Although we can recycle some waste from power production, we still haven't really figured out what to do with most of it. One method for large-scale storage is to bury it, but that's basically a policy of out-of-sight, out-of-mind - we don't yet know the full consequences. It's also expensive and the waste has to be transported over long distances where the probability of a mishap is very real. And although nuclear has a relatively good safety record compared to some other large-scale energy technologies, the consequences of an accident can be far worse - as we learned when a reactor at a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Russia, exploded in 1986. It sent radioactive fallout into the air over Russia, Europe, and even parts of North America and led to an increase in cancers in the areas with the highest concentrations of fallout. If nuclear energy really does expand "around the world", as Prime Minister Harper predicts, the dangers of weapons proliferation will continue to grow. Nuclear power plants also take a long time to build and are incredibly expensive - and are notorious for going massively over budget. Canada has subsidized the nuclear power industry to the tune of $20 billion over the past 50 years. Just think of what we could have done by putting that kind of money into renewable energy. Nuclear energy isn't even all that green when it comes to global warming. If you look at the life cycle of nuclear power, the technology produces greenhouse gases at every step, from energy-intensive uranium mining and transportation to constructing and decommissioning power plants. (Looking at the life cycle of energy technologies hasn't been always been a common practice, but it's an important step that has allowed us to identify problems with energy sources that look attractive at first glance, such as corn-based biofuels.) If we were to look forward instead of backward, Canada could become a leader in energy technology and innovation. As costs for renewable energy go down, costs for old-school technologies like nuclear power and fossil fuels continue to rise. Advances have also been made in power-grid management, meaning renewable sources can be more easily integrated into energy systems. The government of B.C. has recognized that nuclear energy isn't a panacea; in April, it banned uranium mining in the province. Keep in mind that uranium is a limited resource. The European Commission estimated in 2001 that global supplies of uranium could last as few as 12 years if capacity increases substantially and will only last from about 40 to 70 years with current usage rates. Prices have already been skyrocketing as uranium becomes scarce. As we rethink our energy future in light of the dangers of further increasing greenhouse gases, we have an enormous opportunity. I believe that rather than putting all of our faith in big technology (big dams, coal plants, nuclear), investing in a decentralized grid of diverse, small-scale renewable energy sources would be far more resilient and reliable. We should all get behind renewable energy in order to avoid the dangers and expense of an expanding nuclear industry. But there's something else we can do: use less energy. Conservation means we could avoid having to build expensive power plants, and we'd also have cleaner air and some real solutions to global warming. Many people have already switched to more energy-efficient appliances, as well as finding other ways to reduce energy consumption. All of those small things add up to make a big difference. People really do have the power. Take David Suzuki's Nature Challenge and learn more at
www.davidsuzuki.org |