Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Distinguished members of the natural resources committee, my name is Denis Lapointe, and I am the mayor of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, a town in Quebec, and chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. I am also chair of the environmental policy committee of the Union of Quebec Municipalities. With me is David Ullrich, our executive director, and we appreciate the opportunity to testify today.
First, I would like to point out that, contrary to what may have been said, we are not associated with any anti-nuclear organization. Our interest in our presentations and efforts is the public health and safety of the people we represent.
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence are the largest body of surface fresh water in the world. They provide drinking water to about 40 million Canadian and United States citizens and are the foundation of the economy of our two provinces and eight states, which together is the second largest in the world. The Great Lakes basin is home to 98% of Ontarians and the St. Lawrence basin is home to over 90% of Quebeckers, with over 50% along the shoreline of the St. Lawrence.
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is an organization of over 70 local governments, two-thirds from Canada and one-third from the U.S., with over 13 million citizens. We provide a voice for local leaders on key issues relating to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, and work together with other stakeholders to ensure the long-term sustainability of the resource with balanced economic, social and environmental progress.
We are very concerned about Bruce Power's proposed shipment of 16 decommissioned nuclear steam generators containing radioactive waste through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence. Our concerns are: there was not adequate consultation with other governments and stakeholders about the shipment; the shipment exceeds the International Atomic Agency's safety standards for total allowable radioactivity on a single ship; the environmental risk presented by the shipment was not characterized adequately; and the shipment sets a precedent for the future.
Concerning consultation about the shipment, we believe it has been inadequate with cities, the province of Quebec, first nations and the general public. Many of our members learned about this only from newspaper accounts or from our organization. Although there were some efforts to brief local officials once it became clear that the shipment was controversial, these were initially limited and selective. The decision to hold a hearing was announced only after the controversy developed.
We recommend in the future with a matter of this nature that there be public notice at the time an application is received, full disclosure of all the information that forms the basis of the application and proposed action on it, opportunity for consultation with the applicant and decision-makers, answers to questions raised by stakeholders, and a public hearing to raise concerns.
I will now ask Mr. David Ullrich to address our other concerns.