St. Clair River with Walpole Island in the background
CBC reports, “The chief of the Walpole Island First Nation suggests Bruce Power’s spent nuclear steam generators might need a permit to pass through the reserve. …Chief Joe Gilbert said they’re considering their next move. ‘I think that there are a lot of things that go on in our territory without our permission and our request,’ said Gilbert. ‘The law now states there is to be consultation and accommodation.’ The band has every right to assert its authority, since the shipment would have to pass through Walpole territory, he said.”
Walpole Island (Bkejwanong) First Nation is located on an island in the St. Clair River on Lake st. Clair, about 100 kilometres west of London, Ontario. It is unceded territory and is inhabited by the Chippewa, Potawatomi and Ottawa peoples of the Walpole Island First Nation, who call it Bkejwanong, meaning ‘where the waters divide’.
The CBC report adds, “‘It’s not to foster animosity, it is to begin to bring to the forefront the true relationship that should exist between First Nations and Canada and the respect that should be there,’ Gilbert said.” The Council of Canadians will be sending a message of support to Bkejwanong First Nation.
The news article concludes, “The shipment, which would carry 16 school bus-sized, radiation-contaminated steam generators from Tiverton, Ont., across the Atlantic Ocean to Sweden for reprocessing, is on hold for now… The shipments were approved by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on Feb. 4, but still face stiff opposition.” For an outline of Council of Canadians campaign activities against these proposed shipments, please go to http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=6980.
