The videos of the two webinars last week are now available:
1) More Nuclear in Canada’s Energy Future?
Panel: M.V. Ramana (UBC), Susan O’Donnell & Emma Fackenthall (STU), Laura Tanguay (York U), Mark Winfield (York U), chair Janice Harvey (STU)
2) Nuclear is Not the Solution:The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change
Discussion of the new book by M.V. Ramana (UBC) with student research assistants from St. Thomas University Kate Haché, Erin Hurley and Emma Fackenthall
October 1 is national Seniors Day and this year it’s a day of Seniors for Climate Action. Organizers are inviting everyone to meet at the provincial legislature in Fredericton at 11 AM till noon. Pledge support for future generations, learn about how climate change impacts seniors and discuss how to create positive change.
The CEDAR project at St. Thomas University – a CRED-NB champion group – is hosting two webinars about nuclear power and the energy transition.
At 8 PM Atlantic / 7 PM Eastern: More Nuclear in Canada’s Energy Future? will feature profs and students from three universities.
At noon Atlantic / 11 AM Eastern, Professor M.V. Ramana, University of British Columbia will discuss his new book Nuclear is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change with three student research assistants at St. Thomas University.
October 10 – Save the date! More info and registration links HERE.
The World Information Service on Energy (WISE) in the Netherlands invited CRED-NB core member Susan O’Donnell and Northwatch coordinator Brennain Lloyd to write an article for the Nuclear Monitor, a publication of WISE and the The Nuclear Information & Resource Service (NIRS) in the U.S.
The article, “Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) in Canada” is an overview of the difference between CANDU and SMR reactors, how SMRs complicate radioactive waste management, who and what is behind the SMR push in Canada, and the future of SMRs in Canada. You can read the article HERE.
“It’s time to discuss the ways to tackle climate change at the grassroots level, the role of local communities in shaping Canada’s energy policies, and strategic actions and innovative solutions to cap emissions and accelerate our transition to cleaner energy.”
That describes events planned in Fredericton and Sackville by Sierra Club Canada and local hosts. The events are open to everyone.
Sierra Club Canada – Atlantic Chapter are good friends of CRED-NB. Stop-SMRs in NB is a Sierra Club Canada campaign. July 31 in Fredericton and August 1 in Sackville you can meet Sierra Club national programs director Gretchen Fitzgerald and local climate advocates and experts.
In Fredericton @6 PM Wednesday, July 31, at the Charlotte St. Arts Centre Gretchen will co-host with Moe Qureshi of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick (CCNB).
In Sackville @11:30 AM Thursday, August 1, at the Sackville Commons at 18 Lorne St., Gretchen will co-host with Tantramar Alliance Against Hydro-fracking (TAAHF) and include speaker Sabine Dietz (CLIMAtlantic).
Pizza will be served in Fredericton • in Sackville there will be “an assortment of light snacks prepared by ‘Ketchup With That’ kitchen.” Organizers asked anyone planning to go to respond to the Facebook event page: Fredericton page HERE • Sackville page HERE
CRED-NB Champion Mary Lou Harley lives in Nova Scotia where a legislative change stripped the province of “legal protection from expensive and dangerous nuclear power experiments, a protection we have had for over 30 years.” Read Mary Lou’s story HERE in the NB Media Co-op where she explains the situation and the implications for her province.
In May, former New Brunswick Energy Minister Mike Holland tabled a bill to change the Electricity Act. The change would allow NB Power to enter a partnership with Ontario Power Generation (OPG). The bill became law in early June.
In a letter to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on May 29, Peskotomuhkati Chief Hugh Akagi outlined his initial concerns with the proposed agreement between NB Power and OPG, which reportedly includes a partial ownership stake in the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.
The letter is from the Passamoquoddy Recognition Group (PRGI) which represents the Peskotomuhkati Nation in Canada and the interests of rightsholders and the Peskotomuhkati ecosystem, including the Point Lepreau Nuclear Station. Any new owners of the Lepreau CANDU nuclear reactor will have rights and responsibilities that PRGI wants clarified.
Read the story published today in the NB Media Co-op, HERE.
CRED-NB champion, the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance (NBASGA), put its comments on the energy transition up on its website, HERE.
In its submission, NBASGA argues that renewable energy – primarily wind and solar – should be the focus of the lion’s share of New Brunswick’s energy investments. It is the only option that checks all the strategic focus boxes, including affordability, energy security and reliability. Similar to CRED-NB, NBASGA believes that new nuclear energy is not needed. The submission quotes the latest research showing that SMRs are too expensive, slow and risky.
Indigenous leaders from New Brunswick and Ontario held a media event in Ottawa today to share their concerns about nuclear waste on their homelands. Participants:
Chief Hugh Akagi, Peskotomuhkati Nation in Canada
Chief Ron Tremblay, Wolastoq Grand Council
Mississauga First Nation Councillor Peyton Pitawanakwat
Elizabeth May, Co-Leader of the Green Party of Canada, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands
Facilitator: Kim Reeder, consultant, Passamaquoddy Recognition Group
Watch the video HERE.
Read the media release HERE.
The APTN covered the story, HERE.
Our friends in Northern Ontario are asking allies across Canada to sign their Parliamentary petition that closes on May 4. Their petition page with the link to sign is HERE.
The petition calls upon the Government of Canada to require the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (of which NB Power is a member) to demonstrate that it has the consent of residents and communities, including First Nations and Treaty Organizations, along the transportation route and in the region of and downstream of the candidate site for the proposed deep geological repository for the burial of all of Canada’s high-level nuclear waste (including the waste generated by the Point Lepreau nuclear reactor in New Brunswick).