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JUNE
22nd , 2008 |
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IN THIS ISSUE: 1) URANIUM CITIZENS' INQUIRY REPORT TO BE RELEASED: JUNE 24TH 2) STATEMENT FROM THE ARDOCH ALGONQUIN FIRST NATION 3) PETITION AGAINST RECLASSIFICATION OF CANADIAN LAKES 4) THE HEALTH HAZARDS OF THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 7) ARTICLE: NUCLEAR WASTE SITE THREATENS LAKE HURON
CCAMU Media Advisory June 20, 2008 Release of the report from the Citizens' Inquiry into the Impact of the Uranium Cycle: 'Staking Our Claim for a Healthy Future' Date/Time: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 10:00 am Location: Queens Park Press Gallery, Toronto, Ontario Attended by: Members of the communities of Port Hope, Haliburton and Sharbot Lake and report writer John Sewell --------------------------------------------------------- The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium will be releasing its report of the Citizens' Inquiry into the Impact of the Uranium Cycle: 'Staking Our Claim for a Healthy Future', on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 10:00am at the Queens Park Press Gallery. The Uranium Citizens' Inquiry (April, 2008) came about because of growing concerns regarding the mining and use of uranium in Ontario and the provincial government's lack of response to a call for a moratorium. There are now 20 municipalities throughout Ontario, including the Cities of Kingston, Peterborough and Ottawa that have called for an immediate moratorium on uranium exploration and mining and a full public review of the Ontario Mining Act. Community members from Port Hope, Haliburton and Sharbot Lake will be attending the press conference. John Sewell, the writer of the report, will also be available for comment. The Inquiry was first sparked by the actions of several groups in Ontario, including the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation (which led to the jailing of former chief Professor Robert Lovelace;) the 68-day hunger strike by grandmother Donna Dillman; and the partnership of many concerned communities and citizen groups. These actions were in response to the planned exploration for uranium near Sharbot Lake, Ontario. The Inquiry offered Ontarians the opportunity to voice their thoughts, concerns, experiences, knowledge and expertise on issues related to the uranium cycle - from claim staking and exploration to the mining, enrichment, use and disposal of uranium. The Inquiry held public hearings in Sharbot Lake, Kingston, Peterborough and Ottawa, where 157 oral and written submissions were received by members of the Inquiry panel - Marion Dewar, Lorraine Rekmans, Janet Gutowski, Laurie McKnight Walker, Cameron Smith, Fraser McVie and Jamie Swift. The Inquiry witnessed factual material from experts, stakeholders and those interested in uranium, as well as commentary on community, health and social justice issues and the environment. In total, 230 submissions were made to the Inquiry and they have been archived on-line at http://www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com The report presents the results of the Inquiry and makes recommendations to the provincial and federal governments. The non-government organizations that supported the Inquiry include the Greenpeace Canada, MiningWatch Canada, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Sierra Club of Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation, among others. CCAMU Contacts: Wolfe Erlichman: 613-273-3986 Lynn Daniluk: 613-267-0539 A huge thank you goes out to Marilyn Crawford for her tremendous effort on this CCAMU project! 2) STATEMENT FROM THE ARDOCH ALGONQUIN FIRST NATION Ardoch Algonquin
First Nation National
Aboriginal Solidarity Day On May 28th the Ardoch Algonquin people and our allies celebrated a victory when our retired chief and negotiator Robert Lovelace was released from jail. Robert had been the political prisoner of the province of Ontario for peacefully protesting the destruction and contamination of our community lands as a result of a proposed uranium exploration project licensed by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. Robert and the community initiated a protest on June 28 of last year against Frontenac Ventures Corporation for exploration work that they had begun without proper consultation between the Province of Ontario and Ardoch Algonquin First Nation. Ardoch Algonquin First Nation did not consent to this exploration project. Faced with irresponsible development that would impact our lands and waterscapes we undertook a four-pronged approach that included educating our community and the public on the dangers uranium poses to all parts of the Natural World. The second prong was direct action including information tolls and a "camp in" at the Robertsville Site. The third and forth prongs were legal action accompanied by political pressure. Since Robert's release, we have included a fifth prong of healing to deal with the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual impacts of colonial actions by the provincial government: primarily the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development and Mines, and the Ministry of Natural Resources. These ministries are responsible for allowing this situation to happen, escalate, and persist. They have failed in their fiduciary responsibilities to truly consult with us and provide us with evidence that uranium exploration is benign. Does determining the placement and number of holes constitute consultation? Or does consultation actually consider whether or not the free entry system and the staking of private and Aboriginal lands is legitimate. Does true consultation allow the building of roads into wetlands, the destruction of trap lines and traditional harvesting areas, the encroachment on habitats and the contamination of an entire watershed? Or does consultation take into account the voices of the affected communities: Algonquin, settler, and our relatives in the Natural World? Robert Lovelace was criminalized, fined and sentenced to six months in jail for doing nothing more than upholding Algonquin Law. Algonquin Law is not complex, it just requires human beings to think in a much larger context and to consider how any project would impact future generations and the Natural World upon which we all depend for our survival. Robert did not want to be incarcerated but did so willingly as a consequence of "walking his talk." He does not consider himself to be a hero or a victim and would do it again if it meant stopping something that would cause such utter destruction to our homeland. Having said this, the impact of incarceration over the past three and a half months has taken its toll on Robert and he is suffering greatly from this experience. Over the past few weeks since his release our community focus has been on helping Robert to readjust to life outside the walls of his cell. We have therefore been unable to comment publicly on what has been transpiring at Robertsville. Ardoch Algonquin First Nation continues to oppose uranium exploration within our community lands. While our sister community may feel inclined to negotiate with Mining and Northern Development and Frontenac Ventures with respect to their own community interests, such negotiations and any eventual outcome will have no bearing on our position or interests in our lands. Two fundamental points must be remembered. Direct negotiations between Aboriginal peoples and a resource extraction company is a violation of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which outlines the parameters that must be followed in such negotiations. Frontenac Ventures is an exploration company who wishes to explore for minerals on Algonquin land that has not been ceded to the Crown. Therefore, they are a third party who must remain outside the negotiations until such time as these matters are completed between the affected Aboriginal peoples (in this case Ardoch Algonquin First Nation) and the Crown (provincial/federal governments). The second point concerns the mediated talks that were held during the winter. These talks fell apart because the ministry refused to even acknowledge the possibility that consultation between Algonquin people and the Crown could include no drilling as an outcome. Ardoch Algonquin First Nation has never wavered in its commitment to not allow uranium exploration on our community lands. We have suffered the consequences of resisting this project: we have been criminalized, fined, and sentenced to jail for upholding this position. We have suffered physical and psychological stress and harm from this experience that will haunt us for many years. In spite of this, we cannot in good conscience support uranium exploration on our community lands because we know there are negative impacts associated with this type of development. We have conducted extensive research on the potential impacts and feel that they are sufficient to justify our position. Those impacts include contamination of ground and surface water, and the release of radon gas from drilling. Humans, animals, amphibians, plant life and other parts of the Natural World that depend upon that ecosystem for survival will be at a much higher risk of radiation poisoning, ill health and mortality as a result. Furthermore, the construction of roads and removal of "overburden" will also have an impact upon sacred, social, and subsistence sites that will negatively affect our physical, cultural, and spiritual survival. The charges that Ardoch initiated and pursued against Frontenac Ventures through the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of the Environment are a recent example of our determination to win this struggle. The McGuinty Government and Frontenac Ventures should never mistake a quiet Ardoch for a defeated Ardoch. We have not gone away and the protection of our homeland is still paramount. The peaceful resolution of this conflict lies squarely on the shoulders of the McGuinty Government. For more information contact: Chief Paula
Sherman Acting Chief
Mireille Lapointe Christopher
M. Reid 3) PETITION AGAINST RECLASSIFICATION OF CANADIAN LAKES The Conservative government has reclassified several pristine and fish-bearing lakes into 'tailing impoundment areas'. To protest this action sign this petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-lake-dumps-canada Write to Prime Minister Harper: Office of
the Prime Minister 4) THE HEALTH HAZARDS OF THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE As an Algonquin person existing within the contexts of the protests in Algonquin territory regarding issues of uranium mining, I have been motivated to return to my earlier vocation of chemical technology and attempt to learn about the nuclear fuel cycle. Through this learning journey, I was forced to learn a new medical scientific language. Regardless, acting through a sense of responsibility, I forged forward. Contrary to what TV commercials and the nuclear industry would have us believe, the nuclear fuel cycle is far from safe and green. The process of mining, milling, and building nuclear power plants requires huge amounts of energy obtained from fossil fuels. Thus, the process indeed produces carbon dioxide emissions. More disturbingly, the nuclear fuel cycle is harmful in other ways. Nuclear energy depends upon elemental uranium 235. Uranium 235 is naturally radioactive and undergoes decay, meaning it spontaneously radiates or ejects very small particles of energy. Once uranium 235 is removed from the earth and extracted from the ore that once cradled it, much soil and dirt is left behind. These so called tailings are loaded with other radioactive elements such as radon 200 and radium 226, which consequently contaminate the air, land, and water tables in the surrounding areas for many many years. There are three forms of radioactive decay: alpha, beta, and gamma particles. Radioactive decay is undetectable through the human senses and can harm us through ionizing the atoms and molecules that comprise our body cells, hence the term ionizing radiation. It only takes one radioactive particle to damage a human cell. Children are particularly vulnerable because their bodies are containers of much cellular growth. Depending on the form, radiation is carcinogenic, meaning it causes cancer; is mutagenic, meaning it mutates our egg and sperm cells and causes birth abnormalities; and is teratogenic, meaning it has the ability to pass the mother-child placenta barrier. Uranium 235 is a gamma emitter, is carcinogenic, and causes bone cancer. Radon 200 is an alpha emitter, is carcinogenic, and causes lung cancer. Radium 226 is both an alpha and gamma emitter, is also carcinogenic, and causes bone cancer. These are the radioactive elements we are exposed to simply through the act of mining uranium. In addition to this, creating nuclear energy through uranium fission produces more radioactive elements such as strontium 90, iodine 131, cesium 137, and plutonium 239. Strontium 90 is both a beta and gamma emitter and causes bone cancer and leukemia. Iodine 131 is both a beta and gamma emitter and causes thyroid cancer. Cesium 137 is both a beta and gamma emitter and causes muscle cancer. Plutonium 239 is an alpha emitter that is both mutagenic and teratogenic and causes genetic mutations and gross deformities in our newborns. Disturbingly, through "venting," nuclear reactors routinely release these radioactive by-products into the atmosphere. In addition to this, nuclear reactors require thousands of gallons of water a day in the cooling process. This water, which is polluted with radioactive elements, is routinely flushed into our waterways. In this way too our air, land, and water becomes contaminated for many many years. In summary, contrary to what TV commercials teach us and what the nuclear industry would have us believe, the nuclear fuel cycle is not safe and green. Uranium mining and processing produces the green house gas carbon dioxide, it also contaminates the air, land, and water with radon and radium and other radioactive elements. In addition, the process of creating energy from uranium fission produces more radioactive elements such as strontium, iodine, cesium, and plutonium. These radioactive elements hold the energy necessary to harm us in three ways in that they are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic. Finally, through this journey I have come to understand we cannot afford to reduce discussions about Safe and Green Energy to carbon dioxide emissions. Rather, we must also consider radioactive emissions. Lynn Gehl-Algonquin
Anishinaabe-kwe 5) ARTICLE: CURRENT TECHNOLOTY INSUFFICIENT FOR URANIUM MINING, SAYS NUCLEAR CRITIC DR. GORDON EDWARDS Nova News Now June 20th 2008 By: Brent Fox NovaNewsNow.com "We have to be careful when it comes to mining, handling and using uranium. Nuclear critic Dr. Gordon Edwards spoke to eastern Valley members of the Council of Canadians in Wolfville Wednesday evening, June 18." To read the rest of this article go to, 6) ARTICLE: THE RENEWABLE REVOLUTION: WORLD'S BIGGEST SOLAR FARM IS ABOUT TO OPEN-IS THE END OF OIL NEAR? June 13, 2008 The Daily Galaxy "The world's largest solar photovoltaic farm is strangely beautiful. Fields lined with solar panels tilting sunward seem almost like a massive environmental art project-one with an empowering message to the world. We can find ways to run the world predominantly on clean energy if we choose to. It's already beginning. By 2020, Portugal plans to generate over a third of its energy from renewables, with that percentage increasing every year." To read the rest of this article go to, http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/06/the-renewable-r.html 7) ARTICLE: NUCLEAR WASTE SITE THREATENS LAKE HURON Times Herald (Port Huron, Mich.) June 20 2008 "Kay Cumbow isn't the only one alarmed by a possible nuclear waste repository dangerously near one of our Great Lakes, but she is right to raise her voice." To read the rest of this article go to, |