Thank you.
My name is Ginette Charbonneau, and I am a physicist. I am a spokesperson for the Ralliement contre la pollution radioactive.
I will first present our recommendations. The Government of Canada is the main promoter of the nuclear industry that it created itself, but it does not care enough about the rigorous management of radioactive waste. Its recipe remains the same: exploit all the profitable aspects of the nuclear industry, defer waste management costs as long as possible, and deny any risk of nuclear proliferation.
There is a conflict of interest. That is why we recommend, firstly, that one department deal with the nuclear industry, and another deal with radioactive waste management. We propose that the management of radioactive waste should be the responsibility of the Department of the Environment and Climate Change. We would also like the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to report to Parliament and report to the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
Second, we recommend that Canada retain the polluter pays principle. The polluter must deal with his waste, but in our view it is not up to him to decide on solutions. The current regulations are too general and the commission should be tougher and impose rules. After all, it is the regulator. We don't want the fox to be in charge of the henhouse.
Third, we recommend that all licensees be required to provide a detailed inventory listing radioactive contaminants and describing their radioactivity. We are not talking about a construction company, but we are talking about radioactivity. Even small volumes can generate a lot of radioactivity. We would therefore like this to be more precise, because at present, it is the polluters who adopt their own waste classification, and this is a real Tower of Babel. It's a hindrance to identifying risks and solutions across Canada.
Fourth, we recommend that Canada give the highest priority to a solution for intermediate level radioactive waste. For years, no planning has been done for intermediate level waste, and this opens the door to incredible abuse. For example, the demonstration nuclear reactor in Rolphton cannot be dismantled because there is no place to put the waste. Therefore, they want to bury the reactor in a tomb. The problem is that it will sink in a few years, and this goes against the guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.
Fifth, we recommend that Canada ban the import of foreign radioactive waste, even for medical sources. We are not against medical radioisotopes, because that is a good thing, but why do we have to repatriate radioactive waste from around the world? This waste represents about 98% of the radioactivity that will be at Chalk River. Selling radioisotopes is a good thing, but repatriating waste when Canada can't even manage its own waste is an outrageous abuse.
Sixth, we recommend that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission stop misleading the public by including highly radioactive waste among low-level waste. Cobalt-60 sources are an example. In addition, definitions are being changed, giving the impression, on paper, that intermediate-level waste inventories are being reduced. The impression is given that from 2017 to 2022, the inventory of intermediate level waste at Chalk River was reduced by 95%. This doesn't add up.
Seventh, we call for a regional environmental risk assessment along the Ottawa River. Each project is considered individually, but overall, radioactivity is increasing, and so are the risks. So we need to assess all the projects together in a regional assessment.
I now hand over to my colleague Mr. Gilles Provost.