Questions of Power: Ontario, Labrador towns seeking environmental justice
By now, most readers of Waterkeeper.ca Weekly are familiar with the battle for a public hearing on the future of the nuclear industry in Port Hope, Ontario. For two generations, residents in this small Ontario town have been fighting for access to decision-makers, strict environmental protection, and an opportunity to tell their story in the Canadian media.
This Wednesday night, CBC?s The Nature of Things will profile the Port Hope community and its most recent efforts to protect itself from the potential impacts of a new enriched uranium fuel project.
As The Nature of Things goes to air, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is being asked to tell you about another, similar battle. This time in Labrador.
As in Port Hope, residents of Happy Valley Goose Bay are concerned about a major energy proposal. As in Port Hope, the community knows first-hand what the consequences of weak environmental protections will be. As in Port Hope, the community?s request is simple: a fair and public decision-making process.
We need to congratulate the Port Hope community for persevering all these years and the documentary crew for bringing their story to the national stage. As it goes in Port Hope, so it goes in Happy Valley Goose Bay and every other Canadian community fighting for environmental justice.
While the projects and impacts change from community to community, people?s needs remain the same. The words of Labrador?s Grand Riverkeeper ring true from coast to coast to coast:
?We hereby demand a place at the table now and to have funding now to hire our own expertise ? scientific, economic, engineering, and legal ? in order to understand the project. These are the only circumstances under which we, and others, can have meaningful input. We look forward to a positive outcome ??
Hear, hear. For more information: