The Great Canadian Nuclear Waste Saga-Volume Two: 1984-1988

INTRODUCTION .../Walt/My Documents/GCNWS web Files/omni2.
htm
INT RO DUCT IO N
Ab ou t 14 0 kil ometers Northeas t of W inn ip eg, Manitob a, Canad a, in the Ru ral

Mu nic ip ality of Lac d u Bonnet, there is a hole in the " s olid " p re-Camb rian Shiel d roc k.
It is not a c av e, not a grotto, not any th ing c arv ed ou t b y natu re. Bl as ted ou t of th e granite
roc k b y d ynamite, this is a f iv e h u nd red meter-d eep s haf t mad e b y men, ( and a few - v ery
few - women!)
T he s haf t is in a q u iet, ru s tic setting. T he l ow b u il d ings and the gray tower are nearl y
hid d en b y the Camb rian S hiel d l and s c ap e of trees , and roc k ou tc rop p ings . T ou ris ts and
c ottage owners, s eekin g their rec reation at the nearb y l akes an d riv ers p as s there f req u entl y
withou t taking notic e.
T hose who d o hap p en to notic e the tal l h ead -f rame of the s h aft may not ev en realize th at it
is a p rototyp e tes t f ac ility f or fu tu re f u l l-s c ale, c ommerc ial, u nd ergrou nd high-l ev el
rad ioac tiv e was te rep os itories .
It may n ev er oc c u r to the p as s ers b y that some d ay, if th e internation al nu c l ear " ou thou s e"
es tab lis hment gets its way, s c ores of f ac il ities of this typ e c ou l d b e c ons tru c ted , and eac h
of them wou l d b e f il led with s ome of the mos t p ernic iou s p ois ons on the f ac e of the earth :
d angerou s to al l l if e f or, literal l y, eons of time: rad ioac tiv e garb age p rod u c ed b y the world 's
nu c l ear reac tors.
Du ring the 1970 s, it was es timated that if th e n u c lear es tab lis hment's exp ans iv e p lan s f or
reac tor c ons tru c tion in North Americ a had ac tu al ly material ized , the u nd ergrou nd d u mp s
need ed wou l d h av e b een sp ac ed ev ery hu nd red mil es or s o ap art. Hap p il y, the enormou s
c os ts of reac tor c ons tru c tion along with growing p u b lic op p os ition to nu c l ear en ergy
exp ans ion, p rev en ted that s c enario f rom b ec oming real ity.
A large s egmen t of th e Canad ian p u b l ic is n ot enamored with th e id ea of h av in g thes e

rad ioac tiv e su b s tanc es p ermanen tl y entomb ed u nd ergrou n d , is rev eal ed c learl y in the
op inion p ol ls p eriod ic al l y c ommiss ioned b y the s ame organization that c reated the sh aft --
Atomic E n ergy of Canad a, Ltd . ( A E CL) .
As th e F ed eral Crown Corp oration res p on s ib l e for nu c l ear was te " d is p os al " res earc h , AE CL
knows f u l l well that it has b een p roc eed ing with its ef f ort to get Gov ern men t ap p rov al of
its u nd ergrou nd b u rial c onc ep t, in th e f ac e of l arge and mou n ting p u b lic op p os ition.
T he one q u estion ( p arap hras ed ) th at c ons is ten tl y ap p ears in A E CL's own c ommis s ioned
op inion p ol ls year af ter year remains :
"Once the underground burial method of disposing of nuclear waste has been proven safe,
how would you feel about your area being considered as a possible site?"
In its Ju ne, 1978 s u rv ey rep ort, wh en AE CL' s p roj ec t was j u s t gettin g u nd erway, On tarians
p ol led registered op p osition with in a ran ge of thirty to f orty p erc en t. By May of 19 86, the
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s ame q u es tion, ( p h ras ed s l igh tl y d iff erent) res u l ted in an in c reas ed range of op p os ition
from s ev enty-one to eighty-on e p erc en t.
T he nu c lear estab l is hment l os t more grou nd , when op p os ition res p ons es to th e q u es tion
ed ged u p ward f rom s ev en ty -three to eighty-three, in Dec emb er, 1988 . T h rou gh th e years ,
op p os ition grew in s p ite of A E CL's aggress iv e and exp ens iv e p u b l ic rel ations p rogram
( inc l u d ing s l ic k b roc hu res , tel ev ision ad s and ed u c ational kits d es igned f or Manitob a's
s c hool c h il d ren) . It s eems that the h ard er A E CL tries to c onv inc e the p u b lic of the glories
of its u n d ergrou nd b u rial c onc ep t, th e l es s p eop le take to the id ea.
T he more they know, the l ess they like it!
I hav e b een u n ab l e to d etermine th e total amou n t of mon ey A E CL sp ent ov er the years on

its c amp aign to win th e hearts an d mind s of the Canad ian p eop l e. W e d o know th at f or
ju st one year, 198 0, the p u b lic rel ation s b u d get was ab ou t f iv e h u nd red thou s and d oll ars .
W hen Getting T h e Sh aft: T he Rad ioac tiv e W as te Controv ers y in Manitob a ( Q u eens ton
Hou s e, 198 4, ) was p u b lis hed the nu c l ear es tab l is hment nev er c ommented on it of f ic ial ly,
althou gh th e management of the W hites hell Nu c lear Res earc h E s tab l is hment ( W NRE )
AE CL's res earc h s tation at Pinawa, Manitob a, ord ered a l arge s u p p l y f rom the p u b lis her as
s oon as it was av ail ab le!
In itiall y, the f ew loc al b ook ou tl ets in AE CL' s E as tern Manitob a n eigh b orhood , rej ec ted
req u es ts f rom memb ers of th e Committee of Conc erned Citizens (CCC) an d oth ers , to
s toc k a s u p p l y. It was ob v iou s l y regard ed as too hot to h and l e. O ne emp loyee at the
Pinawa res earc h s tation ord ered a c op y d irec tl y f rom the p u b lis her in W inn ip eg,
c ommen ting that s he c ou l d not get a c op y, either f rom A E CL man agemen t or f rom the l oc al
b ook ou tl ets .
T he ef f ec ts of this b lac k-l is ting d id not l ast long, howev er, as CCC memb ers b egan to
c irc u l ate the b ook, loc all y.
A f ew AE CL b oos ters d id what they c ou l d to try to d is c red it it, b u t that d id n ot s top it

from find ing its way to b el eagu ered c itizen s ' and watc hd og grou p s f ac ed with the nu c lear
was te is s u e, es p ec ial ly in some of the northern U .S. s tates targeted as p oten tial d u mp s ites
b y th e U . S. Dep artmen t of E nergy.
Gettin g the Shaf t b ec ame a c itizen-ac tiv is ts ' h and b ook that has h elp ed to " fire u p " thos e
ac tiv el y engaged with the is su e.
As a p ers on al ac c ou nt of a s eries of ev en ts in whic h I was inv ol v ed , the b ook is " ob j ec tiv ely
s u b j ec tiv e. " I hav e tried to keep it f ac tu al and well -d oc u mented throu ghou t, as well as
exp res sing my own op inions . Some rev iewers c ritic ized it for not p resen ting a b alan c ed and
ob j ec tiv e v iew of the is s u e. .
Perhap s s omed ay a s c hol arly treatis e will b e written on th e great n u c lear was te c ontrov ers y
of the las t d ec ad es of the twentieth c en tu ry ( that is , as s u min g the was te has n't d one u s all
in b y that time) . T h at was nev er my intent.
As th e whol e n u c l ear was te is s u e b ec ame inc reas ingl y c on ten tiou s and , as I was right in the
c enter of th e ac tion as a s p okes p ers on f or the c itizens ' mov ement, many friend s s u gges ted
th at I rev is e an d u p d ate Gettin g T he Shaf t.
Bu t "b u rn ou t" took hol d of me in the Sp ring of 198 6. A fter six years of c ontin u ou s and
in ten siv e ef fort on th e nu c lear was te is s u e, while al so c arryin g on my b u s ines s as an
organization d ev el op ment and hu man resou rc es c ons u ltant, I need ed to res tore s ome
b al anc e to my l ife. At th e s ame time I real ized that I c ou ld nev er c omp l etel y d isen gage
my sel f f rom the is su e.
Howev er, b u rn ou t or no b u rnou t, rath er than rev is e it, I f inal l y d ec id ed to write a

foll ow-u p , ( titled p erh ap s S on of Sh aft?) whic h p ic ks u p the s tory f rom 1 984. I wrote
mu c h of the s eq u el d u ring 19 87-88. Bu t, f or reas ons b es t kn own to her, the original
p u b l is her of Gettin g the Shaf t, in W innip eg, af ter hav ing d on e c on s id erab l e work on it,
op ted ou t of the p rojec t.
Al thou gh I h av e s inc e mov ed s ev eral times , I h av e c on tinu ed my inv ol v ement with and
monitoring of the is s u e, and hav e now u p d ated th e manu s c rip t to c ov er the c ru c ial ten
years f rom 19 88 to 19 98. I hav e maintained my c ontac ts with th e Conc erned Citizen s of
Manitob a, es p ec iall y with "ol d -timers " George Ylon en , who c on tinu es in h is role as c h ief
nu c l ear was te wh is tl e b l ower of eastern Manitob a, and Dav e T ayl or, who u s es h is
W innip eg v antage p oin t to good av ail .
T he nu c lear was te s tory is not ov er. If the n u c l ear garb age c oll ec tors get their way, it may
not b e ov er f or s ev eral mill ion y ears or s o. E v en then, s ome of the was te will s til l b e
d angerou s .
E v entu al l y, in th e ab s en c e of a Canad ian c ommitment to d o a s eriou s , in-d ep th s earc h f or

alternativ e method s of d ealing with the waste, it is likel y that th e growin g s toc kp il es of
rad ioac tiv e garb age wil l p u t inc reas ing p res s u re on gov ern men ts and the nu c l ear ind u stry
to mov e ahead with th eir p l ans f or u nd ergrou nd b u rial .
As AE CL's c ommis s ioned op inion p ol l s rev eal , the Canad ian p u b lic simp l y d oes n ot b u y
th e b u rial c onc ep t. Bu t, if s ome c ommu nity c an b e p ers u ad ed ( read b ou gh t-of f ) to take it,
th ere is mu c h money to b e mad e b y imp orting was te f rom oth er c ou n tries . As I write, it
looks as if Canad ian nu c lear enthu s ias ts s til l wan t to win th e rac e to b e the "f irs t kid s on
th e b loc k" to h av e a f u l l s c ale, c ommerc ial, u nd ergrou nd nu c lear was te garb age d u mp .
W al ter Rob b ins , 199 8
F oreward :W hat's Going O n?

T he p h one ran g. It was George Yl onen c al l ing f rom Lac d u Bonnet, Manitob a, f or th e
s ec ond time in as man y weeks . . . .
"W alt, the Pinawa Cou nc il p ass ed a resolu tion in f av or of a nu c l ear was te d emons tration
v au l t! T hey wil l as k O ttawa to ap p rov e it. "
"W hat's goin g on ou t there?" I asked . " F irs t, O ntario Hyd ro, an d now this !"
"I' ll s en d y ou a c op y of the n ews artic le, W al t. "
T he May 19, 1998 is s u e of the Pinawa Pap er, rep orted that a Dr. Van d ergraaf , a Pinawa
res id ent and AE CL emp l oyee req u es ted that the Loc al Gov ernment Dis tric t Cou nc il p as s a
res ol u tion s u p p orting " …the s iting of an u nd ergrou nd d emons tration nu c l ear f u el was te
d isp os al f ac il ity within th e LGD of Pinawa." T he f ac il ity wou l d b e b u ilt on th e A E CL
W hites hell Res earc h E s tab l is hment p rop erty.
T he res olu tion was b as ed on the res u lts of the lon g awaited f in al rep ort of th e F ed eral
E nv ironmental A s ses s ment Panel R ev iewing T he Nu c l ear F u el W as te Man agemen t A nd
Dis p os al Conc ep t, whic h was releas ed to the p u b lic on F rid ay, Marc h 13, 1 998. Af ter
eigh t years an d s ev en mill ion d ol lars s p ent, the Panel had en d ors ed the tec hnic al f eas ib il ity
of A E CL's "c onc ep t" f or u nd ergrou nd " d is p os al " of n u c l ear f u el was tes . T hat p art d id not
s u rp ris e me in th e l eas t. I had p red ic ted th at end ors ement when the Panel was es tab lis hed .
Bu t I was v ery s u rp ris ed that the Panel d id n ot rec ommend als o that the " c onc ep t" s h ou l d
mov e on to the al l -imp ortant s ite s el ec tion s tage. At leas t, not u ntil and u n les s c ertain
other things hap p en ed f irst.
T he Pan el rep ort c ontained two key c onc l u s ions ( f ou n d on p age 3 8 of the In ternet v ers ion
of the E xec u tiv e Su mmary) :
F rom a tec hn ic al p ers p ec tiv e, s af ety of the AE CL c onc ep t has b een on b al anc e
ad eq u ately d emons trated f or a c on c ep tu al s tage of d ev el op ment, b u t f rom a
s oc ial p ers p ec tiv e, it has not.
A s it s tand s , the A E CL c on c ep t f or d eep geologic al d is p osal has n ot b een

d emon strated to hav e b road p u b lic s u p p ort. T he c onc ep t in its c u rrent f orm d oes
not hav e the req u ired l ev el of ac c ep tab il ity to b e ad op ted as Canad a's ap p roac h
f or managing nu c l ear f u el was tes .
A " worl d c l as s " d emon stration f ac ility, ac c ord ing to the artic l e in th e Pinawa Pap er, wou l d
hel p c onv inc e the p u b lic of the merits of th e c on c ep t. T h e LGD Cou n c il p as s ed the
res ol u tion whic h wou ld b e in th e n atu re of a req u es t to the F ed eral Minis ter of Natu ral
Res ou rc es .
A " d emons tration" f ac ility c ontain ing s ome n u c l ear was te wou ld b e p erf ec tl y c ons is ten t
with the rec ommen d ation s in th e Marc h 19 77( !) s tu d y, p rep ared b y A c res Cons u l ting
Serv ic es Limited , f or AE CL. It was , in f ac t, p art two of the " master-p lan ," lead ing to th e
u l timate p ermanent u nd ergrou n d n u c l ear was te d u mp ! George Yl onen was q u ic k to p oint

th is ou t to me an d oth ers .
W hy wou l d the Pinawa Cou nc il , and not AE CL its el f , make s u c h a req u es t? I s u s p ec t

AE CL realized that s u c h a mov e on its p art wou ld ap p ear u ns eeml y while a F ed eral
E nv ironmental R ep ort was p en d ing a d ec is ion of the Gov ernment of Canad a.
A week or so earl ier, George h ad c al l ed me with another j u ic y item -- this time ab ou t

On tario Hyd ro. It had b een s ome time s inc e we had talked an d it was good to hear his
v oic e again. A f ter exc hanging p l easan tries , I s aid , " Dav e T ayl or tel ls me that On tario Hyd ro
has b een sn oop ing arou nd in Lac d u Bonnet. W hat's goin g on ? A nd , b y th e way, what d o
you thin k of the Panel rep ort?"
"W ell , W alt, I p u t it all in my l etter to the Lac d u Bonnet Lead er. O ntario Hyd ro was ou t
here h old ing s ec ret meetings with th e R eev e and th e May or. " George ad d ed , "It l ooks l ike
we are in for another b ig b rainwash in g exerc ise. "
George Yl onen and I had reac ted v ery mu c h th e s ame way to the Panel Rep ort. Its f irs t key
c onc l u s ion, that the A E CL c on c ep t was ac c ep tab le f rom a tec hn ic al p ersp ec tiv e wou ld , no
d ou b t, b e interp reted b y the nu c lear was te b u rial p rop onents as a green l ight. Al l they wil l
hav e to d o is to " soften u p " s ome mu nic ip al c ou nc il s and "b u y of f" a l oc al p op u l ation .
T hen , they will u s e that as ev id en c e of "b road p u b l ic s u p p ort" .
George's Marc h 31, 1998 l etter to the Lead er got right to th e h eart of the matter. He wrote
th at
" T h e F ed eral Gov ern men t of Canad a and A E CL will now s hif t into h igh gear to
b rainwash s ome Canad ian c ommu nity to p as s res ol u tions to hav e this mons trou s
mu l ti-mil lion tonne rad ioac tiv e nu c l ear material s f ac ility b u ilt in their l oc al ity. "
As for the rol e of O ntario Hyd ro, George's letter went on to s ay that
" O n F eb ru ary 18, 1 998 two of f ic ials of O ntario Hyd ro Nu c l ear W as te

Man agemen t Div is ion met in s ec ret with the Ru ral Mu nic ip al ity of Lac d u
Bonnet Reev e, Dav e Marion, and the Mayor of the T own of Lac d u Bonnet, Glen
Hirs t. T he Conc erned Citizens asked p ermis s ion to attend this meeting b u t were
not al lowed to p artic ip ate. "
George c onc l u d ed his letter b y remind in g read ers that the M anitob a p u b l ic had rejec ted a
nu c l ear material c ommerc ial u nd ergrou nd was te d u mp ov er the p as t years , with ac tions
s u c h as :
T he Crown Land Leas e, whic h res tric ted th e u se of th e u n d ergrou nd res earc h f ac ility
to res earc h onl y.
T he Prov in c e of Manitob a High Lev el W as te A c t ( Bill 28) .
T he Un ion of Manitob a M u nic ip alities Res ol u tion #15/ 19 91 whic h rejec ts su c h a
f ac ility in Manitob a.
T he res u l ts of a 1 996 p etition in th e R .M. of Lac d u Bonnet.
On e thing was c lear. George was still in there p itc hing and he wou ld n ot l et the p u b l ic
forget what had tran s p ired s inc e 1 980!

T hat the O ntario Hyd ro nu c l ear was te p eop le had j u mp ed the gu n on th e Marc h 13 rel ease
of the Panel Rep ort, and h ad s tarted meeting with mu nic ip al gov ernment of fic ials in
F eb ru ary, was ev id en c e enou gh for me that th ey were " hot to trot." Pos s es s ion b eing
nine-tenths of the l aw, O ntario Hyd ro wan ted to b e th e l ead agenc y f or the nu c l ear was te
s iting ef f ort. It l ooked as if they were al read y 'way ou t th ere, ahead of them all !
So, h ere we are, al most at the tu rn of the c entu ry, and the "n u ke was te b eat goes on. "
AE CL has had its "c onc ep t" as s es s ed and s u b j ec ted to a l ong and c on ten tiou s
env ironmental rev iew p roc ess . Presu mab ly, th e Gov ernments of Can ad a and On tario will ,
s ome d ay, res p ond to the Panel rep ort.
Some of the key ev ents that l ed u s to this p oin t, and th e rol e that my wif e, Phyl , and I
c ontin u ed to p lay in this ongoing saga, s inc e the 1984 p u b l ic ation of Getting the S haf t, is
th e s u b jec t of this b ook and th e on e to f oll ow it.
D O L DR U M S
E v erything th ey s aid ab ou t th e au tob ahns in W est Germany was tru e. W e d rov e at

ob s c ene s p eed s in ou r rented c omp ac t c ar, whil e other c ars p as sed u s as if we were
s tan d in g s till ! W e d ec id ed to get of f that rac eway, and took a leis u rely b ac k road c ou n try
d riv e f rom Cologn e to Bon n.
T he notion of v is iting the Green Party head q u arters in W es t Germany 's c ap ital h ad b een
s tirring arou nd in my mind for s ome while. W e c ou l d c ertainly rel ate to the non -n u c lear
fu tu re env is ioned b y the Greens . T his u p start, u nc onv entional , and ec ol ogic al l y-oriented
p ol itic al mov ement f as c inated me and I wanted to kn ow more ab ou t it. T hou gh we onl y
s p ent a s hort time there, we h ad a c han c e to watc h the Green c au c u s in ac tion, and tal ked
at l ength with on e of its p u b l ic rel ations of f ic ers . I was amazed that they were p erf ec tly at
eas e with two s tran gers s ittin g in their mid s t whil e they were talking s trategy. ( Bu t ev en
with my s ev eral years of u niv ers ity German, I was all b u t los t!)
T hat v isit with the German Green p arty was a real " s hot in the arm" for Phyl and me d u ring
an oth erwise gl oomy p eriod in th e l if e of the Manitob a Committee of Conc erned Citizen s
( CCC) .
T he trip to E u rop e and Greec e in th e s u mmer of 1984 p rov id ed an op p ortu nity to ref l ec t
on th e p ast f ou r an d one-h alf years of th e nu c lear was te c ontrov ers y. Ou r main trav el
p u rp os e was rec reational , b u t we b oth realized that we were not going to b e ab l e to p u t the
is s u e wh ere the nu c l ear garb age men wanted to p u t the was te is s u e: ou t of s ight and ou t of
mind . ( T hat p hras e "ou t of mind " has some interes ting c onnotation s when ap p l ied to s ome
of ou r ad v ers aries ) .
T he main goal of the CCC had not b een met. And I hate n ot meeting goal s . F or all ou r
c onc erted ef f ort, neith er the Gov ern men ts of Man itob a nor of Canad a ind ic ated the

s lightes t interes t in p rov id ing the l ong-s ou gh t af ter p u b lic h earings on the growin g n u c lear
was te p rojec t d ev el op ing in eas tern Man itob a.
At th e s ame time, the l arger Man itob a and Canad ian p u b l ic was gettin g a f u ll d os e of
p ro-n u c l ear rhetoric in the W innip eg F ree Press . Cap p ing a s eries of three " op -ed " featu re
artic les in f av or of n u c lear d ev el op ment, au thored b y a U niv ers ity of Manitob a p hys ic s
p rof ess or, the news p ap er ed itorialized on Dec emb er 30, 19 83, ( that)
" . . . Manitob a will h av e a ( nu c l ear) f u tu re p otential at l eas t eq u al to that whic h

it has in the f iel d of h yd ro-p rod u c ed energy. "
T he ed itorial may yet tu rn ou t to b e right, if , as I s u s p ec t, Manitob a wil l s omed ay b ec ome

Canad a's (an d p rob ab l y th e world 's ) nu c lear garb age d u mp ! I was n ot s u rp ris ed b y the
p ro-n u c l ear artic l es , s in c e the U niv ers ity of Manitob a's Phys ic s Dep artment was , in l arge
meas u re, an ad ju nc t of AE CL. On e of th e origin al c ond itions f or AE CL mov ing to
Manitob a in the 1960 's was an exp ans ion of that s ame Phys ic s Dep artmen t. I nev er met a
memb er of it who had any s eriou s res erv ations ab ou t the " gl ories " and fu tu re of nu c l ear
energy.
F u rther, it was p ainf u l ly ob v iou s that the E as tern Manitob a f oc al p oint of th e n u c lear
was te c ontrov ers y had b ec ome p retty mu c h of a l os t c au s e. By th e Sp ring of 1 984, th e
CCC was little more than a name. Attend an c e at meetings h ad d wind l ed . T he s p irit h ad
gone ou t of the mov emen t. AE CL' s inf lu enc e in the Lac d u Bonn et-Pinawa area seemed
greater th an ev er. T he great s ilenc er was then, as now, emp l oyment and the p romis e of
more " job s , job s , j ob s " .
T he onl y is s u e that s till c au ght p u b l ic interes t in that area of M anitob a c on c ern ed the
find ing of rad ioac tiv e wel l water.
W hen memb ers of CCC d is c ov ered that the Prov in c e had n ot tes ted an y well s p rior to the
exp eriments at the UR L, we p rotes ted that no well -water b en c hmarks had b een es tab l is h ed .
W ith ou t b enc hmarks , how wou l d anyon e b e ab l e to d etec t c h anges ov er the years to c ome?
As a res u l t of th at p rotes t, the Prov in c ial Gov ernment tes ted and f ou nd rad iu m and
u raniu m in loc al wel ls near th e U RL. Bec au se of th e " s u rp ris e" find ings , th e water-testing
p rogram was extend ed .
In itial c onc erns that the rad iation s temmed f rom s ometh ing A E CL was d oin g were al layed
when the monitoring regis tered h igh l ev el s of rad iation in well s in other p arts of the
Prov inc e.
Peop l e who were told that th ey h ad "u nac c ep tab l y" high l ev els of rad iation in their wel l s
ad ap ted in v ariou s ways . S ome ab an d oned their well s an d had riv er water p ip ed or tru c ked
in , ( ev en th ou gh in s ome c as es , their riv er water s ou rc e was d owns tream f rom the d is c harge
p ip es of the reac tor at Pinawa) . Others , es p ec ial ly ol d er p eop l e with no s mall c h il d ren,
kep t d rinking the water. Some tried u s in g v ariou s fil tering sy stems . T he water at ou r home
in Lac d u Bonnet was , hap p ily, d eemed s af e to d rink.
T he ep is od e c ertainl y mad e p eop le more aware of th e h azard s of rad iation. It b ec ame c l ear
to many, for the f irst time, that ev en natu ral b ac kgrou n d rad iation in the earth c ou l d b e
harmf u l to good h ealth. Ind eed , s ome sc ientis ts thin k n atu ral rad iation is the c au s e of
man y of the aff l ic tions th at hav e p l agu ed hu mankind , and is d irec tly l inked to the aging
p roc es s . Many p eop le b egan to wond er ab ou t the wis d om of ad d ing hu man-mad e rad iation
to that whic h oc c u rs n atu ral l y. Bu t, b y late 1984 , ev en the rad ioac tiv e water is su e h ad al l
b u t fl owed away.
T he irony of the wel l water ep isod e was that AE CL was al ways c omp arin g the rad iation it
p rod u c ed with natu ral rad iation as a way to as s u re p eop l e that th ere was nothing to worry
ab ou t. W hat a s p ec iou s argu men t that was in the l ight of the n atu ral rad iation find ings in
th e well s . Su d d enl y, s ome of the natu ral s tu f f in ou r water was too hot f or c omfort!
Ou r gl oom h ad real ly d eep ened in the au tu mn of 1 983, when the area's main nu c l ear
c ritic , George Yl onen, fail ed in his b id f or re-elec tion as R eev e of the Ru ral M u nic ip ality of
Lac d u Bonn et. George lost b y a s c an t 26 v otes in a th ree-way rac e. F if ty-f ou r of the total
v otes went to a M r. Stev e W all is, who c amp aigned on an anti- AE CL p l atform. T he
Oc tob er 18, 1983 ed ition of the Lac d u Bonn et Lead er rep orted that W al lis
" . . . b el iev es the p rop os ed lab is j u s t a c ov er u p f or a nu c l ear was te d u mp and

that th e exp eriments to b e d one th ere wil l b e harmfu l to f u tu re generation s. "
Had W all is not entered the rac e, it's f air to ass u me that George might h av e b een re-el ec ted .
In teres tin gly, none of the CCC p eop le knew W al lis , nor d id h e ev er make an y c on tac t with
any of u s , or the organization, b efore or af ter the el ec tion. Stran ge, eh? W e all wond ered
where he c ame f rom!
T he p os t-elec tion ed ition of the regional news p ap er, T he Lac d u Bonn et Lead er rep orted
th e s l im v ic tory of the new p ro-A E CL R eev e, R ene Lav oie, with the h ead l ine " Lav oie top s
th e p oll s ." T h is was in s harp c ontras t to th e Lead er' s rep orting ( or lac k therein) of George' s
elec tion th ree years earl ier, when the p ro-A E CL news p ap er v irtu all y ign ored the f ac t of his
s u rp ris e v ic tory.
Du ring George's term as Reev e, onl y on e Cou nc il memb er s u p p orted his p os ition of th e
need f or p u b lic hearin gs into the nu c lear was te d u mp res earc h is s u e. T he others
c ons istentl y v oic ed their s u p p ort of AE CL, on th e b as is that the p rojec t was su p p os ed to
b e onl y " res earc h ."
T he 19 84 Cou nc il c hanged in memb ers hip , an d it l ooked as if one or two of the n ew

Cou nc il ors might inj ec t s ome real is m into the nu c l ear was te c on trov ers y. In the c ru nc h,
howev er, th e Cou nc il c on tinu ed to s u p p ort AE CL and its p l ans for the region.
Hav ing f ail ed wh il e Reev e, in his attemp ts to c onv inc e th e Cou nc il of th e wis d om of his
p os ition, George c ontin u ed to ed u c ate and c aj ol e in his new rol e as p riv ate c itizen . He
freq u ently attend ed Cou nc il meetings , an d p ersis tently req u es ted that it initiate or s eek
p u b l ic h earings . Bu t it was to no av ail. Ju s t as p ers is ten tl y, the Cou nc il rejec ted his
req u es ts. Un d au nted , George c hanged his tac tic s .
He p u t the p u b l ic hearing req u es t on the b ac k b u rner and wen t righ t to the main is s u e. He
b egan as kin g the Cou nc il to p as s a res ol u tion to p roh ib it the u n d ergrou nd s torage of
rad ioac tiv e was tes in Manitob a. A fter many f ru itl es s attemp ts, it looked as if he had hit
p ay d irt in Marc h 198 5, when he p ers u ad ed the Cou n c il to p as s s u c h a res ol u tion . Bu t the
v ote took p l ac e at a meeting when the Reev e and the mos t p ro-AE CL c ou n c il or were away.
George was s u rp ris ed and p l eas ed b y the res ol u tion, and mad e an imp romp tu s p eec h of
th anks to the Cou nc il .
CCC memb ers were elated too, b u t the eu p horia was sh ort l iv ed . Ju s t three weeks later,
when the f u l l Cou nc il was p res ent, it d id a p red ic tab l e ab ou t-f ac e and res c ind ed th e
res ol u tion!
T he A p ril 3 , 198 5 ed ition of the W innip eg F ree Press rep orted George as b eing d eep l y
d isap p ointed b y th e mov e. He was q u oted as say ing
" AE CL c ertain ly d oes hav e an in fl u enc e arou nd h ere, b u t y ou 'l l nev er get an yone
to ad mit it. T here mu s t hav e b een s ome man-to-man talks going on sinc e the las t
meetin g."
I imagine that many p eop le s hared CCC's v iew that the Cou nc il f lip -f lop was tantamou nt
to a v ote in f av or of a n u c l ear was te d u mp f or the area. I was d is ap p ointed , b u t n ot terrib l y
s u rp ris ed . In my v iew, this was j u s t one more ev id enc e of A E CL's "p ers u as iv e p owers " in
th e c ommu nity.
T he W inn ip eg F ree Pres s attemp ted to s mooth ov er the en s u in g c on trov ers y in its A p ril 4,
1985 ed itorial , whic h rational ized the Cou nc il f lip -fl op . It maintained that the rep os itory
wou ld not likel y wind u p in M anitob a b ec au s e of th e as s u ranc es of v ariou s AE CL and
other F ed eral of fic ials . T he ed itorial c onc l u d ed with the s tatement th at
" It is p oss ib l e that the c onc erns of thos e f earf u l of th e f u tu re may b e realized . Bu t
b ef ore th ey are, res p on s ib l e p ol itic ian s at the p rov inc ial and f ed eral l ev el s wil l
hav e to rev ers e themsel v es in p u b l ic . S u c h a rev ers al , giv en the c u rrent c onc erns
ab ou t mos t things nu c l ear, is q u ite remote."
T he F ree Pres s ed itorial was b oth inac c u rate and il l ogic al . Man itob a has nev er b een
c omp letel y ru led ou t as a nu c l ear was te d u mp s ite b y the Gov ern men t of Canad a whic h, in
th e f inal anal ys is , c all s th e s hots on th in gs nu c lear. A ls o, th e ed itorial ignored the f ac t that
most of the p ol itic ians inv ol v ed in th e is s u e at that time wou ld b e l ong gone wh en f inal
d ec isions are mad e, years henc e.
F u rther, the ed itorial ill ogic all y argu ed that wh il e it was al l right f or loc al , p res u mab l y not
d eemed "res p on sib l e" ( ?), p ol itic ian s to c hange th eir mind s, s omeh ow, we c ou l d all tru s t the
as su ran c es of fed eral and p rov inc ial p ol itic ian s that th ey wou l d nev er d o s o. ( W e all know,
th ey n ev er go b ac k on their p romis es !)
W ith ou t d ou b t, the F ree Press was p ro-nu c l ear. Bu t to ins u l t the intell igen c e of the p u b l ic
b y s ayin g that it c ou l d tru s t the non -l egal ly b ind ing as s u ranc es of s hort-term p ol itic ians at
th e s enior lev el s of gov ernment, was a b it mu c h!
Ac tu al ly , the res ol u tion with whic h George Yl onen had c onf ronted the Lac d u Bonnet
Cou nc il b ec ame a p art of the CCC's new c amp aign to get man y Man itob a mu nic ip alities on
rec ord as op p os ed to th e emp l ac ement of a rad ioac tiv e garb age d u mp anywhere in the
Prov inc e.

George in itiated the s trategy with a Ju ne 29 , 198 4 l etter to al l mu n ic ip al gov ern men ts in
th e Prov inc e. In it h e req u es ted that the gov ernments p as s a s u gges ted res ol u tion that
" No h igh or low lev el rad ioac tiv e material s b e p lac ed f or d is p os al or s torage
u n d ergrou nd in the Prov inc e of Man itob a. "
He as ked that a c op y of any su c h res ol u tions b e s ent to the CCC as wel l as to then
Manitob a Premier Howard Pawl ey an d then Lead er of th e O p p os ition, Gary F il mon. A ll
memb ers of the Manitob a Legis l ativ e A ss emb l y and all Manitob a memb ers of Parl iament
were notif ied of the req u es t.
Attac hed to h is letter were ab s trac ts of p u b l ic s tatements , mos tly f rom A E CL off ic ial s ,
whic h s tron gly s u gges ted th at the Lac d u Bonn et-Pinawa area was b y no mean s ou t of the
ru nning as a p otential nu c l ear garb age d u mp , not only f or Canad ian was te b u t from arou nd
th e world as wel l. On e of thes e ab strac ts was a s tatement of A E CL's Dr. Bru c e Good win
rep orted in th e F eb ru ary 2 2, 19 84 ed ition of the W inn ip eg F ree Pres s
" . . . ( that) h e wou l d rec ommend tu rning northern Canad a, in c lu d in g p arts of

Man itob a, into a nu c l ear waste d is p os al s ite f or the worl d . "
By the en d of Nov emb er, 19 84, the CCC had rec eiv ed sixty-one res ol u tions op p os ed to the
d u mp ing of rad ioac tiv e waste in Man itob a. I am c ertain that the n u mb er wou l d hav e b een
greater had not A E CL s ent ou t its own l etter d ated Ju ly 20 , 198 4, to all mu n ic ip al
gov ernments , wh ic h as ked them n ot to p as s ou r s u gges ted res ol u tion.
T he A E CL l etter told the loc al gov ernments that it was not p lan nin g to b u il d a rep os itory
in Man itob a and went on to s tate th at
" . . . a mov e on the p art of M anitob a to p rohib it the storage or d is p os al of s u c h

material s in ou r p rov in c e c ou ld c au s e O ntario to rec ip roc ate b y c l os in g its
p rov inc ial b ou nd ary to ou r waste. "
AE CL's threat was p rep os terou s on the fac e of it. Manitob a had no nu c l ear reac tors exc ep t
th e s mal l researc h one at Pin awa. T he Prov inc e p rod u c ed s ome v ery s mall q u antities of
hos p ital and ind u s trial rad ioac tiv e was te, req u iring onl y one s hip men t p er year to AE CL' s
res earc h f ac il ity at Chal k Riv er, O ntario. Sinc e O ntario was the great nu c l ear was te
p rod u c er, an d p res u mab ly ( at l eas t ac c ord ing to of f ic ial A E CL d oc trine) , wou l d b e th e h os t
for nu c l ear d u mp sites , wh y wou l d AE CL go to s u c h l engths to try to b l oc k th e mu n ic ip al
res ol u tions ?
I s u s p ec t AE CL wrote its letter f or two reas ons : A E CL, an d the Gov ernment of Can ad a
wou ld mos t c ertain ly not wel c ome what amou nted to a grou nd -s wel l of loc al "n u c lear was te
free zones . " Su c h a mov ement c ou ld s et a p rec ed en t f or al l of Canad a. Bu t mos t
imp ortantl y, AE CL and the F ed eral Gov ernment hav e always wanted to keep their op tions
op en.
It was f airl y c l ear b y n ow that no p art of the Canad ian Sh iel d wou ld b e exp l ic itl y exemp t
from c ons id eration as a s ite f or a nu c l ear was te rep os itory, p rior to a f ormal site s el ec tion
p roc es s . In my v iew, A E CL wou ld f igh t any mov e th at c ou l d hamp er fu tu re ef forts to gain
ac c es s to th e Pinawa-Lac d u Bonnet area of eas tern Manitob a, as a p otential u nd ergrou nd
nu c l ear garb age d u mp s ite.
T he end res u l t of th e res ol u tion c amp aign, h owev er, mad e it worth the eff ort. T h e
Manitob a Prov in c ial Gov ernment res p ond ed to th e p res s u re and c ame d own c learl y on ou r
s id e as a matter of p olic y. Gov ernment p ol ic y may n ot b e worth mu c h, b u t at leas t it is
s omething. In his Oc tob er 10, 1984 l etter to the mu nic ip alities , Premier Howard Pawley
s tated
" Let me emp has ize that u nd er this gov ernment, the d is p os al of nu c l ear waste
material s in Manitob a will n ot b e p ermitted . "
F u rther, the Lead er of the Op p os ition, Gary F il mon, in a Ju ly 6, 1 984 l etter, tol d th e CCC
th at
" Res t as su red , that the Progres s iv e Cons erv ativ e Party of Manitob a remains
op p os ed to the es tab lis hment of an u nd ergrou n d rad ioac tiv e was te d is p os al
f ac ility in Manitob a. "
Of c ou rs e, the CCC was p l eas ed b y the 19 84 p ol ic y p os ition s of th e two main p ol itic al

p arties in the Prov inc e. Howev er, ov er the years to foll ow, u ntil 198 7, the Manitob a
Gov ern men t d id almos t n othin g to imp l ement its p olic y whil e it c on tinu ed to wring its
hand s ov er its j u ris d ic tional imp otenc e in the matter.
By 198 6, the Progress iv e Con serv ativ e p arty ac tu al ly rev ersed its s tand and its key
p ol itic ian s b egan tal kin g op enly ab ou t a p os s ib le f u tu re n u c l ear garb age d u mp in the
Prov inc e.
T his was mos t c learl y d emons trated d u ring a d eb ate in th e Man itob a Legis latu re on Ju ly
10, 1 986, when A b e Kov n ats , op p os ition ( Cons erv ativ e) env ironment c ritic , s tated that
" . . . if Manitob a is th e b es t loc ation f or s toring it, ( nu c l ear waste) th en we will b e

s torin g it and I will s u p p ort it. "
Kov n ats wen t on to state th at s u c h a d ec is ion wou ld d ep end on AE CL Pinawa's final

c onc l u s ions on the matter.
T he s ame Lead er of th e O p p os ition, Gary F il mon, who in Ju l y, 19 84 wrote th at his p arty

was
" op p os ed to the estab l is hment of an u nd ergrou nd rad ioac tiv e was te f ac il ity in
Man itob a, "
was now l eav ing the d oor wid e op en f or s u c h a f ac il ity . Du ring the Ju ly 10 , 198 6 d eb ate,
F ilmon s aid , that
" If . . . they d ev el op an iron c lad f ail-s af e method of s toring it in the Prec amb rian
Sh iel d ; then why wou ld we s ay that we'l l hav e non e of it?"
F ilmon wen t on to c hall enge the Pawl ey gov ernment's anti-nu c l ear was te rep os itory p ol ic y

b y s ayin g,
" T h is Premier and his gov ernment hav e th eir head ( s ic ) in the s and wh en they
s ay that there will b e ab s olu tel y no way that we will s tore any nu c l ear waste
any where in this p rov inc e of ou rs ."
It s eemed that Gary F ilmon had his head s omewhere els e when it c ame to this is s u e!
In 1 983-84, d u ring its d old ru ms , the CCC s aw an op p ortu nity to try to l ob b y f or a

legis lativ e b an on a n u c lear was te rep os itory. A n anti-nu c l ear d u mp in g l aw wou l d reinf orc e
and s trengthen Premier Pawley 's rhetoric .
E arly in 1983 , the Prov in c ial Gov ernment annou nc ed that it was b eginn ing work on
d rafting a d angerou s good s h and l in g ac t to d eal with the d is p os ition of hazard ou s was tes in
th e p rov inc e. T he Prov inc ial E n v iron men t Dep artment took th e l ead b y organizing a
s ymp os iu m on the su b j ec t in M arc h , 198 3. Bu t the s ymp os iu m p rogram exc l u d ed any
ref erenc e to rad ioac tiv e was te. Sev eral c onf erees ob jec ted to the omiss ion and the
Dep artment agreed to s et u p a s ep arate works h op on th e s u b jec t.
T his led to a rec ommend ation as rep orted in the Dep artment's final rep ort that
" . . . th e Minis ter giv e c on s id eration to c o-s p ons oring, with the F ed eral
gov ernment, a s ep arate an d s p ec ial s ymp osiu m on th e s u b jec t of l ow-l ev el
rad ioac tiv e waste. "
No ref eren c e was mad e to the main is s u e, howev er: what s hou ld the Prov inc e d o ab ou t th e
es c alation of high-lev el nu c l ear was te res earc h ac tiv ities within its b ord ers ? T o th e b est of
my kn owl ed ge, ev en the rec ommen d ed s p ec ial s ymp os iu m on l ow-lev el rad ioac tiv e was te
was nev er h eld . E ither the Prov inc ial Gov ern men t b el iev ed th at rad ioac tiv e was te was not
"d angerou s good s " or, more s imp l y, it j u s t wanted to av oid this s u b j ec t as it d id with mos t
c ontrov ersial is s u es .
Howev er, the CCC d ec id ed to keep h ammering away at the Prov inc e on this p oint. O n
Au gu s t 18, 1983 , the Prov in c ial E nv ironment M inis try ann ou nc ed an extens iv e p u b l ic
c ons u l tation p rogram on its p rop osed d angerou s good s l egis lation. T his inc l u d ed p u b lic
meetings at v ariou s l oc ations throu gh ou t the Prov inc e. Interes tingl y, n one of the meetings
was p l anned f or either Lac d u Bonnet or Pinawa.
At one of its f irs t c on s u ltation meetings in W innip eg, th e CCC d elegation c ons titu ted more
th an sev enty-f iv e p erc en t ( !) of th os e in attend anc e. W e as ked that the l egis l ation inc l u d e
a b an on the p ermanent s torage of rad ioac tiv e was te f rom s p ent nu c l ear reac tor f u el . Bu t
neith er ou r nu mb ers n or ou r l ogic c ou l d s way the Gov ernment. T he b u reau c rats s imp ly
b ru s hed u s as id e with d ec l arations th at their mand ate d id n ot inc l u d e c ons id eration of
rad ioac tiv e was te. Nu c l ear energy and nu c l ear was te were matters of F ed eral j u ris d ic tion,
th ey s aid , an d th eref ore c ou l d n ot b e c ons id ered in the p rop os ed l egis l ation .
Hav ing f ail ed temp oraril y on the l egis l ativ e f ron t, we u s ed the op p ortu nity to write a letter
( Ju ne 1 9, 19 84) to Premier Pawley whic h s tated ou r d is c ontent with his gov ernment's lac k
of ac tion on th e nu c lear was te c ontrov ers y in the Prov inc e. In it, we s aid that we d id n ot
b el iev e that h is gov ernment was as hel p l ess as it c l aimed to b e. Cop ies of the l etter were
mad e p u b l ic and its c ontents were rep orted in the med ia.
Ou r c onf rontations with p rov inc ial gov ernment of fic ials , c ou p l ed with ou r mu nic ip al
gov ernment res ol u tion c amp aign, s erv ed to keep th e is s u e " b arel y aliv e, " and b ef ore th e
p u b l ic d u ring thos e d isp irited years of 19 83 and 198 4.
As id e from p artic ip ating in th ese s trategies , my main eff ort was to c omp l ete the man u s c rip t
of Getting T h e Sh aft. ( I fou nd the writing to b e d ownright therap eu tic , and highl y
rec ommend the ac tiv ity to any ac tiv is ts who are f ru s trated b y lac k of res u lts !)
Al s o, d u ring that p eriod , I linked u p with s ome Manitob ans who were trying to s tart a
Green Party in the Prov in c e. T h ou gh their initial ef f orts fal tered , the s eed was p lan ted .
Green Parties had al read y s p rou ted u p in mos t of the other Prov in c es and ev en at th e
F ed eral l ev el , and I s till h ad hop es th at ev entu al l y, s u c h an ec ol ogic al l y-b as ed mov ement
wou ld take hol d , ev en in stod gy ol d Manitob a.
On e of ou r lon g-term CCC s talwarts , Dav e T aylor, s h ared my in teres t in the Green
mov emen t. He had s p en t s ome time in W es t German y s tu d y ing the goals and method s of
th e Party and had c ome b ac k to Manitob a with th e c on v ic tion th at the time h ad c ome f or
s u c h a mov ement here.
His eff orts to rev ital ize the f l aggin g Green mov emen t in M anitob a c oinc id ed with th e
b omb s hel l that A E CL was ab ou t to d rop . O u t of th es e two ev en ts , a new mov ement was to
aris e. In 198 5, the CCC was ab ou t to u nd ergo a maj or trans formation.
NE W MO VE ME NT
By the s ou nd of George Ylonen's v oic e on the p h one th at night in early Janu ary, 1 985, I
knew that something b ig h ad h ap p ened . " W al t, I j u s t got b ac k from a Cou nc il meetin g.
You wil l nev er b el iev e it!"
"I'll b eliev e anything at this p oint, George. W h at hav e they d one now?"
"A t the Cou nc il meeting l ast night, Ren e Lav oie ann ou nc ed that A E CL has a p rop osal from
th e U . S. Dep artmen t of E nergy to d eep en th e Lac d u Bonnet Shaf t," said George.
"Hap p y New Year, George! Here we go again. "
***
On Janu ary 19 , 198 5, T he W in nip eg F ree Pres s h ead l ine read
" U .S . c ons id ers res earc h at Lac d u Bon net." T he artic l e s tated th at the more than
30 mill ion d ol lars wou l d , amon g other th in gs, ". . s ee the ( u nd ergrou nd )
l ab oratory d eep ened to ab ou t 4 40 metres from its p res en t 240 metres. " T he
p rop os al was mad e b y an agen c y of the U . S. Dep artment of E nergy ( DO E ), th e

Cry stal line Roc k R ep os itory O f fic e b as ed near Chic ago, Ill inois.
W e knew that th e U . S. Gov ernment h ad b een inv olv ed in the Lac d u Bonnet researc h
p rojec t, al mos t f rom its inc ep tion. T his was p art of an in ternational agreement. Bac k in
Au gu s t, 1982 , the U . S. an d Canad a s igned an agreement to s hare res earc h inf ormation on
nu c l ear was te. T his rep l ac ed an earlier 19 76 agreemen t b etween the two c ou n tries .
Ac c ord ing to an artic l e in the Au gu s t 26, 1982 F ree Pres s ,
" T h e f iv e-y ear agreemen t wil l al low Canad ian and A meric an res earc hers to
exc han ge inf ormation, samp l es and eq u ip ment. Sc ientists and engineers c ou ld
al s o c ros s th e b ord er f reely f or j oint or s ep arate p roj ec ts . "
So, n ow the Yanks were c oming in f u l l f orc e. I c ou l d al mos t hear the b u gl e c al ls ! T he

p rojec t that A E CL originall y s aid was too s mal l an d ins ignific ant to warrant p u b lic
hearin gs, was now heral d ed as a great internation al ac hiev ement, and was to d ou b l e at
leas t, in s ize and s c op e.
W ith p lenty of its own Camb rian gran ite in Mic higan, W is c ons in and Minnes ota, why
wou ld the U. S. Dep artment of E n ergy inv es t mill ions in eas tern Man itob a? T h e an swer
b ec ame c l ear as the mon th s rol led on. T he DO E c ou l d n ot gain ac c es s to simil ar roc k
formations within its own b ord ers . T he granite roc k states were s u c c es s f u l in b l oc king its
ev ery ef f ort.
W hat to d o? No p rob l em! Ju s t a hop , s kip and j u mp ac ros s the b ord er and there was
"F riend ly Manitob a, " as th e motto on its c ar lic ens e p lates th en p roc laimed .
It was ab ou t that time that Dav e T ayl or d ec id ed to try to rev ital ize the Manitob a Green
mov emen t. Dav e had many f riend s and c on tac ts in W inn ip eg, and he p u t his c ons id erab l e
energies to good u s e. W ithin weeks h e h ad as s emb l ed a grou p of mos tl y you ng
W innip egers to exp l ore the id ea.
T he meeting of th e new grou p at W es tmin ster Un ited Ch u rc h, W inn ip eg, on Marc h 1 9,

1985 , inc lu d ed Dav e's new rec ru its , s ome of u s W innip eg and Lac d u Bon net " v eteran"
CCC-ers, s u c h as George Ylon en and Margu erite Larson, p l u s s ome of th e p eop le who were
in v olv ed in the earl ier attemp ts to f orm a Green Party in the Prov inc e. A ttend ing al s o were
p eop l e rep res enting c ommu nities to the s ou th of AE CL' s Lac d u Bonnet p rojec t, n ear
W hitemou th, Manitob a. T hey had s et u p their own organization, c all ing it, mu c h to the
general amu s ement, " Gu ard ians of O u r Shield 's E nv ironment," or, " GO O SE . " Sev eral
memb ers of other Manitob a en v iron men tal organ izations were al s o p res ent.
Du ring the formativ e meetings , th e grou p d ec id ed to p u t th e d ev elop men t of a Green Party

on hol d , and to c ontinu e to u s e the name Committee of Conc erned Citizens . A t a
s u b s eq u en t meeting in Beau s ej ou r, Manitob a, the grou p op ted to inc orp orate as a
non-p rof it organization. T he name Conc erned Citizens of Manitob a, Inc . , or CCM was
c hos en to make it as rep res entativ e as p os s ib le of the wid es p read c oal ition that was s tarting
to emerge.
T he grou p d id not hes itate to ad op t the nu c l ear waste is s u e as its n u mb er on e p riority. It

was c ons id ered to b e a c l as s ic Green is s u e; with s oc ial, ec onomic , p ol itic al and moral as
wel l as tec h nic al as p ec ts. It was a gl ob al is s u e wh ic h c ou ld b e ad d res s ed loc all y. It h ad

b ec ome f airly v is ib l e in Man itob a, and it was at the heart of th e c on fl ic t b etween thos e
who b el iev ed in a nu c l ear f u tu re for the worl d an d th os e who d id n ot. In s h ort, the new
grou p wou ld " c u t its teeth" on this c omp lex ec ol ogic al is s u e.
I was q u ite mov ed b y this d ec is ion. And I imagine there was a l u mp in the throats of th e
other " ol d timers " who had s tru ggl ed f or s o l ong. W hat had looked like a l os t c au s e j u s t a
few mon th s earl ier, now hel d the p romise of a s trong new b eginning. T he p end ing
agreement b etween A E CL an d th e U . S. Dep artmen t of E nergy worked as a c ataly st f or
ac tion.
In itiall y, the rev ital ized CCM d ec id ed to c onc entrate on ed u c ating its el f ab ou t the is s u e.
Howev er, I was gratified to s ee that there was als o a strong ac tion orientation among many
of the new p eop le. A new W inn ip eg-b as ed med ia-c ontac t team was es tab l is hed , c omp ris ed
of Donov an T immers , An ne W ieser, an d mys el f , W al t R ob b ins .
George Yl onen and Margu erite Lars on c ontinu ed to serv e as med ia c ontac ts in Lac d u
Bonn et in ord er to tal k to the growing nu mb ers of rep orters , p olitic ians and others who
were c oming into that area to look at th e A E CL p rojec t.
A s tep p ed -u p l ob b ying c amp aign was organized , aimed p rimarily at the Prov inc ial and
F ed eral Gov ernments . Networking with l ike-mind ed p eop le in other p rov inc es , in th e U . S.
and ab road was als o c ons id ered high p riority .
E f f orts to d ev elop ou r own ed u c ation al materials were u nd ertaken. W ith v irtu all y a n il
b u d get, in c ontras t to AE CL's mu l ti-mil lion d ol l ar p u b lic rel ation s c amp aign, this wou l d
rep res en t no s mall u nd ertakin g.
As a f irs t s tep , the n ew grou p d ec id ed to u nd ertake a l etters to the ed itor c amp aign in th e
W innip eg F ree Pres s . T he news p ap er had s et u p an "Is s u es " s ec tion in its new S u nd ay
ed ition, ju s t as the nu c l ear d eb ate heated u p af ter the annou nc ement of th e DO E p rop os al .
On F eb ru ary 2 4, 19 85, it h ad p u b l is h ed a f u l l p age d eb ate on nu c l ear was te wh ic h
in c lu d ed artic les written b y A E CL's E gon F rec h, s yn d ic ated c ol u mnis t Lewis Roth lein, an d
th is au thor.
T he l etters c amp aign got off to a f lying s tart. Hard l y a week went b y withou t a letter
ap p earing in the news p ap er. T hou gh most d eal t d irec tl y with nu c l ear waste, s ome of them
ad d res s ed th e b road er iss u es of nu c l ear energy, the nu c lear fu el c hain and th e rol e of
s c ienc e and tec hnology in soc iety.
I had hop ed th at the general p u b lic wou l d b e d rawn into th e l etters d eb ate, and thou gh a
few were, the v as t majority of the letters were written b y CCM memb ers and AE CL's
Pinawa Pu b lic Rel ations Dep artment s taf f . In any ev ent, it was c ertain ly an in exp ens iv e
way to keep the is su e in f ron t of th e p u b l ic .
Ov er the years of the c ontrov ers y, it had b ec ome inc reas ingl y c lear that inf ormation was
th e n ame of the game. Not on ly was it imp ortan t f or u s to p u t ou r v iews b ef ore the p u b lic ,
it was eq u al ly imp ortan t f or u s to try to f ind ou t as mu c h as we c ou l d ab ou t the inner
workings of ou r ad v ers aries in the nu c l ear es tab l is h men t. T he general s ec rec y su rrou nd ing

th in gs nu c lear was a c on stant s ou rc e of f ru s tration.
Du ring 198 4 and earl y 198 5, CCM in itiated req u ests u nd er the Canad ian and A meric an
Ac c es s to Inf ormation laws .
Legal A id Man itob a's Pu b l ic Interes t Law Dep artment hel p ed u s fil e the p ap ers req u ired
u nd er Can ad ian p roc ed u res . It was one of s ev eral kind s of as sis tanc e th e CCM rec eiv ed
from Legal A id ov er the y ears . T he U .S. ac c es s p roc es s was hand l ed f or u s as a f av or b y an
old f rien d of min e, Bru c e F renc h, who was a law p rofes s or at a u niv ers ity in O hio.
T he s hoc king res u lts of thes e eff orts rev eal ed th at the b es t s ou rc e of inf ormation ab ou t the
in ner workin gs of th e Canad ian nu c l ear was te res earc h p rogram in eas tern Man itob a was
not ou r F ed eral Gov ern men t, not A tomic E nergy of Canad a, Ltd ., not the Manitob a
Gov ern men t, b u t rather, the U .S. Dep artment of E n ergy R egion al O ff ic e in Ch ic ago,
Il l in ois !
Ou r f irs t d is c ov ery was that A E CL is exp l ic itly exemp t f rom the Can ad ian s tatu te f or
"s ec u rity" reas ons . Howev er, the U . S. Dep artment of E nergy, ( DO E ) res p ons ib le f or the
Americ an nu c lear was te p rogram, ev en thou gh it als o manu f ac tu res nu c lear weap on s , is
in c lu d ed in the U. S. ac c ess l aw.
T he q u estions p os ed to b oth gov ern men ts were b as ic al l y the s ame:

W e wanted any and all inf ormation rel ated to th e rad ioac tiv e was te res earc h ac tiv ities
at th e W hites hel l Nu c l ear R es earc h Station (W NRE ) at Pinawa, and the Lac d u
Bonnet Un d ergrou nd Res earc h Lab oratory, ( U RL).
T he Canad ian Atomic E n ergy Control Board ( AE CB), p rod u c ed a total of eight u nins p iring
d oc u ments , ( s l im p ic kings f or the agenc y wh ic h " regu lates " A E CL) . Bu t, the A E CB d id
b etter than E nv ironment Canad a, wh ic h s aid it h ad no d oc u ments rel ated to ou r q u es tions ,
a f ac t whic h d id n ot d eter th e then F ed eral E nv ironment M inis ter Su zanne Bl ais -Grenier
from as su ring CCM, in writing, th at her Dep artment wou l d p rotec t the in teres ts of
Manitob ans v is -à-v is nu c l ear was te!
T he Minis try of E nergy, Mines and Res ou rc es ( E MR ), whic h ad minis trativ el y ov ers ees
AE CL, asked f or ad d ition al time to p roc es s ou r req u est b ec au s e it need ed " third p arty
ap p rov al " to rel eas e rec ord s it had id entified . Pres u mab ly, AE CL wou ld d ec id e wh ic h , if
any, p ap ers it wou l d al l ow E MR to releas e.
E v entu al l y, E M R gav e u s 64 d oc u ments , many of whic h were al read y known to u s , s u c h as

ou r own inf ormation hand ou t( !) , and c orres p ond enc e b etween ou r grou p and E MR .
Howev er, there were two 1 980 d oc u men ts wh ic h were q u ite intrigu in g.
On e was a memoran d u m f rom E nergy, Mines and Res ou rc es to A E CL p rop os ing that
" . . . p art of the 10, 000 ac re F ed erall y-own ed ( n ot Crown Land ) res erv ation at the
W hite-s hel l Nu c lear Res earc h E s tab l is hment ( Pinawa) b e u s ed for a c omb in ed
u n d ergrou nd res earc h f ac ility an d d emons tration v au l t, whic h wou ld c on tain
nu c lear was te, and wou l d not req u ire Prov in c ial Gov ernment ap p rov al " ( !) ( ital ic s
ad d ed )

T he s ec ond item was a letter f rom O ntario Hyd ro to A E CL s u gges ting th at a d emons tration
v au l t s hou ld b e the
" . . . ( the) initial or f irs t s mal l s c ale op eration p has e of the c ommerc ial rep os itory. "
( ital ic s ad d ed ) T he letter al s o end ors ed Manitob a as the site f or th e U R L b ec au s e
" An y attemp t to s ite th e U R L in O ntario wou ld inv ol v e len gth y d elays . " ( ital ic s
ad d ed )
It wen t on to c onf irm that ap p rov al s f or th e Man itob a s ite had gone v ery smoothl y;
s omething wh ic h q u ite ob v iou s l y c ou ld n ot hap p en in O ntario!
So mu c h for the Canad ian f reed om of in formation p roc es s . W hat d id we get from th e U . S?
Its E nv ironmental Protec tion Branc h p rod u c ed noth ing. And the U .S. Nu c lear Regu latory
Commis s ion ( NR C) , c ou nterp art to th e Canad ian AE CB, s aid it had no rec ord s sinc e it had
no regu latory in v olv emen t with th e Canad ian p rogram. Bu t we hit the jac kp ot with the
U. S. Dep artment of E n ergy. It p rov id ed an in d ex of s ev enty key d oc u ments al ong with a
s ev enty p age c omp u ter p rin tou t c on taining titles f or on e hu nd red thirty-fou r ad d itional
d oc u ments , al l of th em related to ou r q u es tion f or " any or al l " inf ormation ab ou t th e
eas tern Manitob a p rojec t.
Among thes e d oc u ments were minu tes of p roj ec t management c ommittee meetings for the
u nd ergrou n d res earc h lab oratory exp erimental p rograms , c orres p ond enc e b etween the two
Gov ern men ts , rep orts of of f ic ial trav el, rec ord s of tel ep hone c al l s , in c lu d in g s ome med ia
in q u iries , and ab strac ts of tec h nic al rep orts . Non e of this inf ormation had b een p rov id ed
to u s u nd er the Canad ian ac c es s p roc es s!
T welv e of th e s ev enty DOE d oc u ments we req u es ted were withhel d b ec au s e they were
rel ated to an on-going s eries of negotiations wh ic h c ou ld giv e the U .S. agenc y a mu c h
larger p iec e of the E as tern Manitob a res earc h p rogram. W e ass u med , ( c orrec tl y, as we later
fou nd ou t) , that th ese related to th e d eep ening of the Lac d u Bonn et s haf t f rom 24 0 to
450 meters .
DO E exp l ained that the withhel d d oc u ments were " c ommerc ial " and their rel eas e c ou ld
" . .. s u b s tantial l y h arm AE CL' s c omp etitiv e p os ition and c ou ld c au s e inju ry to th e

Gov ernment's p roc u rement p roc es s . "
Comp etitiv e? W e were not aware that anyone other th an the DO E was "c omp eting" f or
s p ac e in the Lac d u Bonn et s haf t. W ho el s e might b e c oming alon g to join the p arty?
W e were startled to d isc ov er that the c ontents of p h one c all s to the Crys tall in e R oc k
Rep ository O f f ic e b as ed near Chic ago, Il linois , f rom rep orters f or the Can ad ian
Broad c as tin g Corp oration ( CBC) , and th e W in nip eg F ree Pres s were p rov id ed to u s , ( as ,
we as s u me well th ey h ad b een to A E CL) .
UR L Management Committee minu tes mad e f req u ent referenc es to p u b l ic l ac k of c onc ern
ov er the Lac d u Bon net p roj ec t. T he minu tes als o rev ealed that AE CL d el ib eratel y u s ed
c ommu nity s oc ial oc c as ions to get inf ormal read in gs on p u b lic op inion. ( Do you s u p p os e
th ey as ked p eop l e to fil l ou t q u es tionnaires at c oc ktail p arties, or while hav ing a c u p of
c of fee at the b ake s hop ? O r d id they ju st s id le u p b es id e inn oc ent gu es ts , an d sn oop ?)
T he min u tes mentioned one in s tan c e where A E CL d is p atc h ed memb ers of its s taf f to an
E as tern Man itob a s c hool to c orrec t " mis inf ormation" giv en b y a teac her on the s u b j ec t of
rad iation. W e kn ew ab ou t that on e al read y, b ec au s e the teac her inv ol v ed hap p ened to b e
one of CCM' s f ou n d ers( !) , Margu erite Lars on. V ery wel l v ers ed in things n u c l ear, sh e was
not intimid ated b y AE CL's " tru th sq u ad " ap p roac h.
Ou r exp erienc e with b oth c ou ntries ' ac c es s to in formation l aws l ed u s to c onc l u d e that the
U. S. is mu c h more generou s th an Canad a with the q u antity and v ariety of d ata it is will ing
to s hare with the p u b lic . Bu t, more imp ortan tl y, as c onc erns the n u c l ear was te is s u e, th e
U. S. Dep artment of E n ergy ob v iou sl y had more than a p as s in g interest in A E CL's eas tern
Manitob a p rojec t. Q u ite c l early, th e DO E knew v irtu all y ev eryth in g there was to know
ab ou t th e Canad ian nu c l ear was te res earc h p roj ec t at Lac d u Bon net-and then s ome!
Legal A id , Manitob a's Pu b lic Interes t Law Dep artment h elp ed again wh en we rais ed the
q u es tion of the legal ity of A E CL p ermitting the U. S. E nergy Dep artment to d o res earc h on
p rov inc ial l y-owned Crown l and .
In h is Jan u ary 3 0, 19 85 letter to u s , then Legal Aid attorney Lawrie Cherniac k ad v is ed th at

leas es gran ted b y the Prov inc ial Gov ernment gav e AE CL " exc l u s iv e" rights to b e on the
leas ed l and in q u es tion. Cherniac k s aid that
" Ac c ord ingl y, only A tomic E nergy of Canad a, u nd er th e terms of thes e l eases , c an
d o the thin gs that are al lowed and any entity going onto the p rop erty withou t th e
c on sen t of th e Prov inc e of M anitob a, wou ld b as ic al ly b e tres p as s ing. "
He b as ed this c on c lu s ion on the ass u mp tion that the U .S. Gov ern men t wou l d b e
c ond u c ting exp eriments th ems el v es . If A E CL was d oing the work f or the U .S . u nd er
c ontrac t, th an this c ou l d c h ange his interp retation. Bu t the notion of RCMP of f ic ers
ejec ting DO E s c ientis ts f rom the U RL s ite was c ertainl y amu s ing!
W as th e U . S. p l anning to d o an y of its own res earc h on th e l eas ed Crown l and ? It was

d iff ic u l t to f ind ou t. A E CL had erec ted a s hrou d of s ec rec y ov er its negotiation s with the
U. S. Gov ernment. No ou ts id er c ou ld get ac c es s to the d etails of thes e negotiations ,
in c lu d in g ou r own Prov in c ial Gov ernment whic h, su p p os ed l y, c ontrol l ed th e l and in
q u e s tio n .
On Janu ary 28 , 198 5, A E CL's Gary Simmons d id s ay on a CBC W innip eg talk s how that
" F rom their ( U . S. ) p oint of v iew it p rov id es th em with an op p ortu nity to b ring
their s c ientis ts u p here and get th em s ome p rac tic al exp erienc e. "
Bu t, in the f inal an alys is , the Prov in c ial Gov ernment d id not s hare Legal A id 's op inion.
E ith er they granted the p ermis s ion to A E CL to p ermit the U . S. to d o the res earc h, or they
in terp reted th e l eas e in a d if f erent mann er than d id Legal A id . T he l egality is s u e d ied . W e
d id n ot hav e the resou rc es to p u rs u e it ou rs elv es and Legal A id h ad tol d u s right from th e
s tart, that its on ly as s is tanc e to u s wou l d b e res tric ted to ad v ic e and res earc h .
Nev erthel es s , the p rob ab l e u p c omin g en tranc e of the U .S. Gov ernment into th e Lac d u
Bonn et s haf t h ad a d ef inite ef fec t on the p s yc hol ogy of the whole nu c l ear was te is su e.
Pu b l ic awarenes s was heightened . T h e new mov emen t was a real ity. Its enthu s ias m was
high. Nov el s trategies were b egin nin g to emerge wh ic h wou l d make the b al anc e of 198 5 a
most liv el y time f or all .
F O R GING A HE AD
T he re-en ergized new CCM grou p d ec id ed to giv e high p riority to lob b ying th e Prov inc ial
Gov ern men t. On Marc h 1, 1 985, we wrote to Manitob a Premier, Howard Pawl ey,
req u es ting a meeting on a n u mb er of p oints , in c lu d in g the s ec rec y s u rrou n d in g the U .S.
Dep artment of E n ergy p rop os al to A E CL, and the refu s al of the Gov ernment of Canad a to
ru le ou t Manitob a as a p otential nu c l ear waste d u mp .
W e q u oted f rom a F eb ru ary 11, 1 985 l etter of Pat Carney, F ed eral E n ergy Minis ter of the
d ay. She h ad res p ond ed to a l etter whic h we had s ent to Prime Minis ter Brian Mu lroney
req u es ting that h is Gov ern men t c omp l etely el iminate Man itob a f rom any f u tu re
rep os itory-s iting c ons id eration. Her l angu age was s u rp ris ingl y f ran k.
" W h en a f ac il ity is req u ired , it will b e the s u b j ec t of negotiations b etween f ed eral

and p rov inc ial au th orities . T here are too man y imp ond erab les f or the p res ent
gov ernment to is s u e p ol ic y d irec tiv es to A E CL that wou ld f orec los e s iting op tions
f or s u c h a f ac il ity ind ef initel y. "
Imp ond erab l es ! Do you s u p p os e p ol itic ian s hav e a s p ec ial ized d ic tionary u s ed exp res sl y f or
th e p u rp os e of try ing to c onf u s e the p u b lic ?
Bu t in any ev en t, it was c lear th at, as f ar as th e F ed s were c on c ern ed , Manitob a was not off
th e h ook.
Premier Pawl ey tol d u s in his Marc h 2 5, 19 85 rep ly that h is E nv ironment Min is ter, Gerard
Lec u yer wou ld arrange a meeting with u s and memb ers of ou r grou p to d is c u s s the matter
of nu c lear was te d is p osal in Man itob a. T he meeting was s et f or Satu rd ay, May 25, 1985 at
3: 00 PM, at th e Man itob a Legis lativ e Bu ild in g.
T here was c onf u s ion and c onf l ic t from th e s tart, and CCM d id not get of f on a v ery good
footing with Mr. Lec u yer. W e h ad notif ied th e med ia that we wou ld h old a news
c onf erenc e af ter the meeting in f ront of the Manitob a Legis l ativ e Bu il d ing. Ins tead , the
med ia q u ic kl y fou nd its way to the c onf erenc e room and with its tap e rec ord ers and
tel ev is ion c ameras c ov ered the entire meeting.
W e had als o tol d the Minis ter's of f ic e that we wou l d p rob ab l y hav e a grou p of ab ou t s ix
p eop l e at the meeting. A s it tu rned ou t, eac h of the s ix p eop l e inv ited others and we
wou nd u p with ab ou t forty. A lthou gh I was s u rp rised at th e s ize of the tu rn ou t, I was q u ite
p l eased . CCM was always h ap p y with large tu rn ou ts .
Bu t Mr. Lec u yer was not amen ab le, or amu s ed . In itiall y, it ap p eared that he might not
ev en p artic ip ate. Af ter s ome enc ou ragement f rom ou r grou p and h is s taf f ( an d , p rob ab ly,
th e p res enc e of th e med ia) , the meeting final ly got u nd erway.
T he f ru s trations of CCM v eteran s c ame ou t d u ring the meeting as d id the en ergy and
enthu s ias m of the new grou p . It was a s tormy s es sion, d ef in itel y c on fron tational in natu re.
Mos t of th e c on fron tation was ov er the main is s u es , rath er than the p ersonalities inv ol v ed ,
althou gh th e p ers onal ities inv olv ed were as s u red l y fru s trated b y the l ac k of genu ine
in teres t an d res p on s ib il ity d is p lay ed b y the Gov ernment of the d ay.
Du ring the meeting, we p res ented thirty written q u es tions to the Minister, who p romis ed
to get ans wers b ac k to u s . He als o agreed to meet with a smal l l iais on c ommittee whic h ou r
grou p wou ld f orm, and s aid that he wou l d d is c u s s ou r c onc erns and req u es ts in a
forthc oming Cab inet meeting.
Su b s eq u ently , the M inis ter c anc el l ed the f irs t meeting of the newl y-formed l iais on
c ommittee and wou l d not agree to meet with it b ef ore th e Cab inet meetin g. O n Ju n e 1 1,
1985 , we b yp as sed the Minister and s ent eac h memb er of th e Man itob a Cab in et a letter,
s p ell ing ou t ou r main c on c ern s .
In s tead of attemp ting to res p ond to th e is s u es inv ol v ed , v ariou s c ab inet minis ters and
of fic ials b egan giv ing u s the mes s age th at we were not b ehav ing in a manner d eemed
c orrec t b y th e s tand ard s of the Howard Pawley NDP Gov ernment. W e were tol d th at ou r
b ehav iou r was u ns eemly (!) , and that we were hu rtin g ou r own c au s e b y not p l aying b y the
ru les . ( Perh ap s s ome of them wou l d hav e b een hap p ier had we al l s tood in a c orner f or fiv e
minu tes , or written " W e s hal l b e nic e!" 100 times on a c h alkb oard !)
Premier Pawl ey's gov ernment wou l d s oon b e fac ing an elec tion. He had s tated p u b l ic l y th at
his p ol ic y d u rin g the c amp aign wou l d b e to av oid c ontrov ers ial is s u es . Chas tis ing CCM f or
"making wav es " was a ref lec tion of that p ol ic y. I f ou nd that to b e an amazin g p erv ers ion of
d emoc ratic id eal s . In my v iew, the ap p rop riate time to d is c u s s an d d eb ate c ontrov ers ial
is s u es , is p rior to an el ec tion, not af ter it. T h e p u b l ic has a right to know where th e
gov ernment s tand s on imp ortant matters .
Bu t th e Prov inc ial Gov ernment seemed more c on c ern ed with av oid ing c ontrov ers y an d
emb arras s ment, than with ad d res s ing c ritic al is su es of c onc ern with the p u b lic . It h ad onl y
one th in g in mind --- getting re-el ec ted .
Su rp risingl y, the op p os ition Cons erv ativ e Party f ail ed to take ad v antage of this " rais e no
is s u es " p oint, and I am c onv inc ed that that is one of the reas ons why it l os t that c l os e
elec tion to the New Democ ratic Party.
E v entu al l y, ou r liais on c ommittee d id meet with th e Minis ter. He b egan p rov id ing ans wers
to ou r many q u es tions . Ab ou t the s tronges t thing said in al l of his res p ons es was his
reaf f irmation of Premier Pawl ey's earlier p olic y s tatement in op p os ition to a nu c l ear was te
d u mp in the Prov inc e.
He tol d u s that th e Prov inc e was u nab le to get a c op y of the US E nergy Dep artment
p rop os al to d eep en the Lac d u Bon net s haf t. In an Oc tob er 8, 1 985 l etter to the CCM, he
s tated
" Bec au se it is a F ed eral p roc es s and AE CL op erates u nd er F ed eral j u ris d ic tion,

the timing f or AE CL to rev eal to this Dep artmen t the s p ec if ic s of its p l an is at

their d is c retion. "
If ou r own gov ernment c ou l d not get th is in formation ab ou t U . S. p lans in M anitob a, at

th is s tage, what might it not b e ab le to f ind ou t in the f u tu re? Perhap s , wh en A E CL in v ites
p rov inc ial of fic ials to the grand c eleb ration of the extens ion of the s h aft, it wil l f ind ou t,
after th e f ac t!
It was c lear f rom Mr. Lec u y er's c ommu nic ation s , d es p ite his "d on't worry, we'l l p rotec t you "
as su ran c es , that the re-el ec ted M anitob a Gov ernment p erc eiv ed its el f to b e p owerl es s on
th e is s u e of nu c lear was te. T h e on ly l egal au thority the Minis ter c ou ld id entif y was in the
area of intra-p rov in c ial tru c king. Sin c e n u c lear was te is s hip p ed in ter-p rov inc iall y, this was
hard l y a s ou rc e of c omf ort to u s .
Al thou gh he f irmly b el iev ed th at the as su ran c es his gov ernment rec eiv ed from Ottawa d id
in f ac t rep res ent F ed eral Gov ernment p olic y, Mr. Lec u yer agreed that this was not an
iron-c l ad gu arantee f or the f u tu re. In a c an d id A p ril 25, 1 986 l etter to CCM s p okes p ers on,
Ann e W ies er, Lec u yer s aid th at
" My own op in ion is that th e f ed eral gov ern men t wou ld n ot, howev er, es tab lis h a
nu c lear was te d is p osal fac il ity here in the fac e of the d etermined op p os ition of
Man itob an s. "
Af ter hav ing c onc ed ed that the p eop l e thems el v es mu s t s top a fu tu re d u mp , in the s ame
letter, he went on to rationalize th e granting of more p rov inc ial ly-c ontrol led l and s to A E CL
for " fu rther researc h p u rp os es. "
T he manner in whic h the Prov inc ial Gov ernment h ad granted that ad d itional Crown l and
to A E CL was , in CCM's v iew, u n d erhand ed and h eav il y motiv ated b y p ol itic s .
E arly in Nov emb er, 1985 , AE CL req u es ted nine s p ec if ic s ec tions of Crown lan d for the
p u rp os e of d ril ling b orehol es in wh ic h to c ond u c t hyd rogeol ogic al s tu d ies . T h e req u ested
lan d , s p read among two ru ral mu nic ip al ities of Pinawa and Lac d u Bonnet, an d the l oc al
gov ernment d is tric t (LGD) of A lexand er was c aref u ll y loc ated in a p attern arou nd the
u nd ergrou n d tes t f ac ility. A E CL s aid it p l anned to sc al e d own s imil ar res earc h near
Atikokan, O ntario, and c ond u c t it in eas tern Manitob a.
AE CL again extend ed ec onomic entic emen ts b y annou nc ing th at ten to twen ty p erc ent of
th e ten mil l ion d oll ar, p rop os ed f if teen year-l ong p roj ec t, wou ld b e c hann ell ed in to the
loc al ec onomy. A nd , again, th e " c onv enien c e" of p roximity to th e W hites hel l Nu c l ear
Res earc h Station was c ited as a reas on f or the l oc ation of th e p roj ec t.
"Conv en ien c e" was giv en as one of th e reas ons for s tarting th e initial p roj ec t n ear Pinawa in
th e f irs t p l ac e. I s u p p os e, f ol lowin g that reas on in g, s omed ay it will b e " c on v enient" f or
AE CL to p u t the nu c l ear was te d u mp n ear its exp and ing res earc h f ac ilities . O f c ou rs e,
th ere are those of u s who f eel c omp l etel y in c onv enienc ed b y thes e d ev el op ments , b u t
s omeh ow, we d o not c ou nt!
CCM v iewed th e new b orehol e s ites as yet another es c alation, whic h wou l d p u t more
AE CL res ou rc es into eastern Manitob a, and , of c ou rse, d raw more of th e ac tion away f rom
On tario, where A E CL kep t ins is ting the ac tu al rep os itory wou ld b e b u il t.
AE CL's res earc h agreement with the Gov ernment of On tario seemed to b e taking on les s
and les s s ign if ic anc e as eas tern Man itob a was rap id ly b ec ome the foc al p oint of Can ad a's
nu c l ear was te geol ogic al res earc h. Ironic al ly, no s imilar res earc h agreemen t existed b etween
AE CL and the Gov ern men t of M anitob a, in whos e mid s t th e ac tion was taking p l ac e.
Sam U s kiw, then Prov inc ial Minis ter of Natu ral R es ou rc es , and res p ons ib l e f or
Gov ern men t Crown Land s , ref u s ed to meet with CCM rep res entativ es to d is c u s s th is new
d ev el op ment. I d id not f in d this ref u s al s u rp ris in g in the l eas t, s in c e Mr. U s kiw was a wel l
known su p p orter and ad v oc ate of th e n u c lear es tab lis hment, and was the Memb er of the
Legisl ativ e A s semb l y ( MLA ) rep res entin g the Lac d u Bon net p rov inc ial j u ris d ic tion,
( whic h in c lu d ed Pinawa) .
Af ter s ev eral f ru itl es s attemp ts to get a meeting with U s kiw, we d ec id ed to s ee Premier

Pawl ey ab ou t the matter.
A s mal l CCM grou p ( ab ou t ten ad u l ts ) wen t to the Premier's of f ic e to attemp t to meet with
him. W e asked f or a f ew minu tes of his time to p lead ou r c as e that the n in e s ec tions of
Crown l and s hou ld not b e granted to AE CL.
As I exp ec ted , we were tol d the Premier c ou ld not meet with u s at that time, or in th e n ear
fu tu re. W e s aid , p ol itel y b u t f irml y, that we wou ld remain in his ou ter off ic e u ntil h e
ap p eared . T his l ed to q u ite an in teres tin g c on frontation with h is s ec retaries and es p ec iall y
two of his aid es , who tried to sh ou t u s of f the p remis es . W e s h ou ted lou d er.
Some CCM memb ers had b rou ght their c h il d ren, al ong with th eir b ooks and toys , to th e
imp romp tu " sit-in. " W hile the ad u l ts engaged in a rather u n p l easan t d eb ate, th e kid s
hap p il y p layed with their toys on th e f l oor of th e Premier's ou ter of fic e --- an interes ting
s c ene.
Af ter things c ooled d own, we final l y got the c h anc e to exp l ain ou r c on c ern s to th e
Premier's aid es and l ef t, knowing f u l l wel l that we were on th e v erge of l os ing an other
b attl e.
As it tu rn ed ou t, the Premier an d two oth er Cab in et Ministers wou l d make the d ec is ion to
gran t A E CL its nine s ec tion s of Crown l and , b u t th ey d elayed the ac tion f or s ev eral mon th s
u ntil ju s t b ef ore the u p c oming p rov inc ial el ec tion, (n o d ou b t c ons id ering that to b e an
elec tion "good ie" f or Sam U skiw's d omain ).
Du ring that p eriod , we tried c ontin u ou s l y to d etermine the s tatu s of the Crown lan d
req u es t, b u t ou r inq u iries were s hu nted ( v ery p ol itel y, of c ou rs e!) f rom one Ministry to
another in that wond erf u l b u c k-p as s in g game th at p ol itic ians an d h igh l ev el b u reau c rats
p l ay s o wel l , wh en th e p l ay d ec id ed u p on is to " take no ac tion at al l. "
Howev er, the d el ay in getting the land d id giv e A E CL s ome p an gs of anxiety. Normal ly,
th e Crown Corp oration got what it wanted righ t away f rom the Prov inc e, with no
c omp lic ations . Bu t this was d if ferent. It was p ol itic all y sen s itiv e b ec au s e, as a res u l t of ou r
eff orts , there h ad b een some med ia c ov erage. T he Gov ern men t ob v iou sl y d id not want to
ru n th e risk of los ing a s ignif ic ant b l oc k of v otes in its Pinawa s tronghol d , n or d id it wan t
to antagon ize v oters who op p os ed what A E CL was d oin g in eas tern Manitob a.
AE CL's c on c ern ov er the d elays was b es t exp res s ed in a F eb ru ary 5, 1986 ed itorial in the
loc al Pinawa Pres s . U nd er th e head in g, " Don 't d es ert u s , Mr. Pawl ey," th e Pinawa weekl y
imp l ored th e Premier to rec ogn ize the ec onomic b en efits of
" . . . a n ew fou nd ind u s try j u s t waiting to b e b orn ." Its argu men t went well
b ey ond the s c op e of a res earc h p rojec t wh en it s tated "You hav e at you r
f ingertip s , Mr. Pawl ey, the op p ortu n ity to f ather a wh ole new ind u s try, to c reate
l ong las ting emp loyment. T he c reation of the s torage c hamb ers will fu rther
s u p p ort ou r mining ind u s try b y emp l oying thes e s kil ls when they are n ot
req u ired els ewhere, and . . . p rov id e stab il ity and d iv ers ity to ou r ec onomy. "
F inall y, the ed itorial exp res s ed the main c onc ern at Pinawa; the d el ay in grantin g the
ad d ition al p u b lic Crown l and to A E CL. It p oin ted ou t that the Premier had b een hol d ing it
s inc e l ate 19 85 and had mad e no d ec is ion. T he f in al p aragrap h told the real p ol itic al s tory .
It read
" As ou r elec tion ap p roac hes , y ou hav e an op p ortu nity to take a b ol d s tep into th e
f u tu re. A ll you hav e to d o is ac kn owl ed ge that s ol u tions c an b e f ou nd an d
mayb e, ju s t may b e, thes e solu tions are in ou r h ip p oc ket. "
In my v iew, A E CL real l y n ev er had any th ing to worry ab ou t. It had al way s rec eiv ed what it
wanted f rom the Prov inc e, and it was ob v iou s it was going to get th e ad d itional s ec tions of
Crown l and .
Pol itic ian s are a f airl y p red ic tab l e lot. A s the f amou s A meric an f olk s inger W ood y Gu thrie
onc e ob s erv ed in his 1930 's l yric s ab ou t d ep res s ion p otato s ou p ,
" It was s o th in that you c ou l d read a p ol itic ian throu gh it."
T he Pawley gov ernment was no exc ep tion. It went ah ead an d ap p rov ed the Crown l and as
q u ietly as p os s ib l e, with no p u b lic notic e, no p u b l ic inv ol v ement, and n o p u b l ic hearings ,
ju st d ays b ef ore the Marc h, 19 86 Prov inc ial elec tion, when p u b lic attention was tu rned to
man y oth er el ec tion matters .
W ors e y et, th e d ec is ion was taken ov er the exp lic it ob j ec tions of one of the three p u b l ic
ju ris d ic tions in whic h s ome of th e d is p u ted Crown lan d was loc ated .
AE CL had notif ied R eev e F ran T homp s on of the Loc al Gov ern men t Dis tric t ( LGD) of
Al exand er, of the req u es t f or the lan d . T he LGD of A lexan d er Cou nc il u nanimou s ly v oted
again st the n u c l ear res earc h l and grab in its env irons . A nd , s u rp ris in gly ind eed , ev en two
of the Lac d u Bon net Cou nc il lors exp ress ed s ome res erv ations ab ou t the d eal . Bu t the
c onc erns of l oc al gov ernments c u t no more ic e with the Prov inc ial min is ters than thos e of
th e CCM.
As it tu rn ed ou t, an ad d ition al reas on for the d elay in gran ting AE CL the lan d was that
Premier Pawl ey had as ked th en F ed eral E n ergy Minis ter Pat Carney for a written as su ran c e
th at the Gov ern men t of Canad a wou l d n ot c on sid er Manitob a as a loc ation for a high l ev el
nu c l ear was te rep os itory. Af ter s ev eral exc hanges with th e F ed eral Minis ter, Pawley f inall y
got what h e c on sid ered was a satis fac tory as s u ranc e. A c c ord in g to an artic le in the F eb ru ary
5, 19 86 National Gl ob e and Mail, Ms . Carney's f inal tel ex rel eased F eb ru ary 4 , 198 6 b y
th e Premier s tated that
" It is not the intention of the Gov ernment of Canad a or ( AE CL) to es tab l is h a
nu c lear fu el was te d isp os al s ite anywhere in Manitob a. "
Howev er, in th e s ame artic le, Rob ert Morris on, Direc tor-Gen eral of the U ran iu m and
Nu c lear E nergy Branc h of Mis s Carney' s E nergy Dep artment, was rep orted as s ayin g that
her as s u ranc e that Man itob a is
" . . . 'not now ( b eing c ons id ered ) . . . is n ot intend ed as a b lanket gu arantee' b u t

on ly means that 'at th is time there are not p l ans or intention s '" to loc ate in the
p rov inc e. Morris on emp has ized that her ( Carney's ) s tatement d oes n ot reall y
gu arantee that Man itob a wou ld n ot b e a site f or a rep os itory in the y ears ahead , ".
. . thirty or forty years f rom now. " ( ital ic s ad d ed )
T his p lay ing with word s ab ou t intention s and p l ans had b een u s ed b ef ore, and , no d ou b t,
will c ontin u e to b e u s ed righ t u p u n til the time th e ac tu al s ite s el ec tion d ec is ion takes
p l ac e.
Howev er, it was good en ou gh f or Premier Pawley to j u s tify the gran ting of more Manitob a
Crown l and to th e n u c lear es tab lis hment f or its exp eriments .
T hes e p ol itic al mac hinations on ly s erv ed to s trengthen th e rev italized CCM. Memb ers hip s
and d onations grew as p u b lic ity and med ia c ov erage exp an d ed . It was b ec omin g v ery c lear
th at this new W innip eg-b as ed "Green" -tinted ec ology mov ement was here to s tay f or a v ery
lon g p eriod .
T here is no d ou b t in my mind th at the news of the ongoing negotiation s b etween the U .S .

DO E and A E CL, c ou p led with A E CL's new l and grab in eas tern Manitob a, h ad a real
imp ac t on th e p u b l ic c ons c iou s nes s .
Bu t p erhap s th e mos t imp ortant as p ec t of the DOE -A E CL all ianc e was the emergenc e of
s ome f ormid ab le new al lies for CCM --- al lies who were to h av e a s tron g imp ac t on the
ev ents to c ome.
ALLIE S
F al lou t f rom the Ap ril, 1986 , Ch ern ob yl n u c lear reac tor exp l os ion in the Sov iet U kraine
d emons trated that n u c l ear rad iation res p ec ts no national b ou nd aries . T h e b ord er b etween
th e U S and Canad a is no exc ep tion to that tru th.
T he network of c onc erned p eop le on b oth s id es of th e Canad a - U S b ord er was d es tined to

grow arou nd the mu lti-f ac eted is s u es of the nu c l ear f u el c hain . CCM fou nd its el f in th e
ev er exp an d ing web of c ommu nic ation with in this network.

On e of the p otential ly mos t exp los iv e (p u n in ten d ed ) is s u es is the large nu mb er of

op erating nu c lear reac tors , in b oth c ou ntries , in c l os e p roximity to the Great Lakes .
Du ring the earl y F al l of 1 987, Phyl an d I atten d ed a c onf eren c e near T oron to, of the
Coal ition f or a Nu c lear F ree Great Lakes ( CNF GL, b u t known , amu s in gly as "Conif igal !" ) .
Comp os ed of organizations and in d iv id u als f rom Can ad a and th e U . S, the Coal ition was
v ery c on c ern ed ab ou t growing threats of nu c l ear p oll u tion and other d angers in th e Great
Lakes area.
US p artic ip ants p ointed to s eriou s saf ety p rob l ems with s ev eral of their c ou ntry's reac tors .
T hey s aid an ac c id en t c ou l d harm the main water s u p p l y of twen ty - s ev en mil lion p eop le.
T he U S reac tors whic h p os ed the greates t threat to Can ad a were id en tif ied as Perry 1 at
North Perry, O hio, F ermi 2 at Monroe, Mic higan, and Dav is -Bess e at O ak Harb or, Oh io.
E ac h p l ant h ad rep orted s ev eral f ail u res or b reakd owns of p lant s ys tems or p roc ed u res in
1986 an d 1 987. T he c onf erees agreed that the Coalition 's firs t major goal s hou ld b e
" . . . to el iminate the nu c lear p ower and nu c l ear weap on s ind u s tries f rom the
Great Lakes Region. "
T he Coalition al s o ass es s ed the d angers to the Lakes f rom u ran iu m mine tail ings . T he
c onf erenc e p res s s tatement p ointed ou t that th e op eration of nu c lear reac tors res u l t in
enou gh of th es e tailings to d o c ons id erab l e d amage to th e Great Lakes . [ F or examp l e,
mining the u ran iu m to f u el th e f ou r reac tors at the Darl in gton ( O ntario) Nu c l ear
Gen erating Station al one, f or one y ear, leav es enou gh p ois on ou s mine was tes or " tail ings "
b ehind to rend er al l the water in Lake Hu ron u nd rinkab l e.]
As for high-lev el , rad ioac tiv e s p en t f u el , wh en f u l l y op erating, ev ery three y ears Darl ington
wou ld p rod u c e en ou gh " rad -was te" to c on taminate the water in al l of the E arth's f resh water
lakes to l ev el s u nac c ep tab l e f or d rinking water. T he fu el rod s c ontain ed ins id e Darl in gton's
reac tors at any one time, on c e they are h igh ly rad ioac tiv e, will b e p ois on ou s en ou gh to
make al l the Great Lakes waters u nd rinkab le.
Howev er, the c onf erees reac hed no c ons en su s on what to d o ab ou t high-lev el rad ioac tiv e
was te. Some wan ted al l the was te remov ed f rom the Great Lakes region; others were d eep l y
op p os ed to th e trans p ortation of th e was te. T he grou p agreed to take u p the whol e nu c l ear
was te q u es tion at a f u tu re fol l ow-u p c onf erenc e.
CNF GL p artic ip ants agreed to c ontin u e to meet ev ery s ix months , to network, an d to c reate
greater p u b l ic awaren es s of th e d an gers inv ol v ed in the c ontinu ing op erations of n u c l ear
generating s tations .
CCM's rel ations hip with al lies in the US h ad b egu n in 1 982, with the North -Central
States , esp ec ial l y Minn esota and W is c ons in, s hortl y af ter the U nited States Gov ernment
enac ted its Nu c l ear W as te Pol ic y A c t. Citizen s ' grou p s h ad q u ic kly f ormed in thos e two
s tates arou nd the d ev elop in g h igh-l ev el nu c lear was te is s u e.
Mos t of th e gras s roots organization in Min nes ota was in the n orth eastern and c entral p arts
of the State. O ne v ery ac tiv e and al ert grou p , MN-NO RT H, was monitoring AE CL hyd ro
geology res earc h ac tiv ities ju s t ac ross the b ord er at nearb y Atikokan, O ntario. T h is alert
grou p was c onc erned not onl y ab ou t a p os s ib l e U S rep os itory in its area of Minnes ota, b u t
a p oten tial Canad ian one near A tikokan, as wel l.
In ad d ition to d irec t l inks to c itizens ' grou p s and ind iv id u al s within Minnes ota an d
W is c ons in , CCM es tab lis hed a regu l ar c ommu n ic ation c hannel with the Minnes ota Pu b l ic
In teres t R es earc h F ou nd ation ( MPIRF ) and the two s tate gov ernments thems el v es .
MPIRF had es tab l is h ed its own rad ioac tiv e was te off ic e, head ed b y Barb ara Johns on , a
lawyer an d v ery ef f ec tiv e organizer. She kep t u s s u p p lied with inf ormation on the U S
nu c l ear was te s itu ation and we kep t her inf ormed ab ou t Canad ian d ev el op ments .
T he s tate gov ernments had s et u p organization al mac hin ery to d eal with nu c l ear was te
is s u es as a res u lt of the U nited States Nu c l ear W as te Pol ic y A c t. In ad d ition to p rov id in g
th e U S Dep artment of E nergy ( DO E ) with a b l u ep rint an d res ou rc es to p u rsu e a nu c l ear
was te management p rogram, th e A c t p rov id ed s tates with F ed eral f u n d s f or v ariou s
p u rp os es ( inc l u d ing p u b lic ed u c ation) --a f ar c ry f rom the ref u s al of ou r own F ed eral
Gov ern men t to ev en ad mit that there was a need f or u n b iased p u b l ic inf ormation and
ed u c ation.
Min nes ota an d W is c on s in were j u s t two of th e f ifty U S States , al l of whic h op p os ed the

id ea of hos tin g a high-lev el rad ioac tiv e was te rep os itory .
Both States b ec ame v ery interes ted in th e Canad ian nu c l ear was te p rogram in the earl y
1980 's . T hey monitored the growing rel ation sh ip b etween AE CL and DOE . A nd b oth
States b ec ame v ery c on c ern ed when A E CL an d DO E entered into negotiations wh ic h l ed
to the in ternational geologic al res earc h in eas tern Man itob a and northwes t O ntario.
It was not lon g b ef ore State of f ic ial s d is c ov ered th at CCM was a v alu ab le inf ormation
c ond u it as well as a link to Canad ian p u b lic op in ion v ia th e med ia. CCM d is c ov ered th at
its own ob j ec tiv es c ou l d b e f u rth ered b y nu rtu ring th e rel ations h ip s . T he c oop eration
ev ol v ed q u ite natu ral ly.
Perhap s s u c h a rel ations h ip b etween a gras s roots c itizen s ' organ ization in Canad a, an d
agenc ies of US State Gov ernments was not u np rec ed ented , b u t it was c ertainl y n ot
c ommon p l ac e.
In itiall y, I was th e main c ontac t b etween CCM and the two s tate gov ernments . My own
exp erien c es as a U S f ed eral b u reau c rat in W as hington, D. C. mad e the rol e s eem q u ite
natu ral. Du ring the l ate 1 960s , my j ob with the U S anti-p ov erty agenc y, the O ff ic e of
E c onomic Op p ortu nity ( O E O ) , of ten inv olv ed workin g with s tate and l oc al gov ernments .
Hap p y as CCM-ers were to see the organizational inf ras tru c tu re d ev el op ing s ou th of the
b ord er, we c ou ld n 't h elp b u t f eel env iou s too. W e were p l eas ed to f ind s ome s trong an d
ac tiv e p eop l e working on th e s ame is s u e that had b een c ons u min g s o mu c h of ou r time and
energy. W e al s o en joyed the f riend ly rec ep tion we rec eiv ed f rom c itizens ' grou p s and s tate
of fic ials alike.
W e were real l y imp res sed b y their res ou rc es and th e d etermin ation of th eir p u b l ic of f ic ial s
to take p os itiv e s tep s to p rotec t their p eop l e from th e s p ec tre of u n d ergrou nd nu c l ear
garb age d u mp s . F or examp le, in Minnes ota s tate of fic ials and c itizen ac tiv is ts were working

togeth er c oop erativ ely on the high-l ev el rad ioac tiv e was te is su e.
T he Gov ernor's Cou nc il had two ad v is ory c ommittees , on e f or ed u c ation an d one f or

p ol ic y. Both were b road l y b as ed in terms of rep res entation and geograp h y.
Both Minnes ota an d W isc ons in d ev elop ed au d io-v is u al p res en tations on nu c l ear waste.
CCM b orrowed c op ies of b oth, to s how to in teres ted p ers ons an d grou p s , and to gain id eas
for a p os s ib le v ers ion of ou r own.
In c on tras t to AE CL's p u b l ic relations of fic e's s lic k, gl os s y, and h eav il y-b iass ed b roc h u res
and hand ou ts , Minnes ota d ev elop ed an exc ell ent kit of material s on nu c lear was te
in c lu d in g a s eries of f ac t s heets for wid e d is trib u tion th rou ghou t th e State. T hey were
mad e av ail ab l e to u s , and CCM u s ed the material s exten siv el y as han d ou ts in Manitob a.
T he s eries in c lu d ed d isc u s sions of al ternativ es f or the s torage, treatmen t and d is p os al of

high-l ev el rad ioac tiv e was te, a d esc rip tion of the US F ed eral Gov ern men t p rogram,
u nc ertain ties c onc ernin g c rys tall ine b ed roc k d isp os al, and a c itizen s' gu id e to th e n u c lear
was te is s u e, among other th ings .
As CCM's p os itiv e rel ations hip with the Northern States d ev elop ed , we b ec ame more
emb ittered ov er the in ac tion of ou r own p rov inc ial gov ernment with its ov ertly negativ e
attitu d e toward u s an d ou r c on c ern s . T h e c on tras t b etween th e b ehav iou r of the two
ad j ac ent p u b l ic ju ris d ic tion s toward b as ic all y the s ame is s u e, was p rofou nd and s tartl in g.
W hil e the Pawley Gov ernment was s itting q u iet as c an b e in its c hamb ers , c ou n ting
p otential v otes in eas tern Manitob a, the Minnes ota and W is c ons in Gov ernments were
taking p rac tic al meas u res to d eal with th e is s u e.
Ou r relations hip with th e two s tates d ev el op ed to the p oin t where I was inv ited to s p eak at
a p u b l ic meeting, Sep temb er26, 1 985, of the Min nes ota Citizens Ad v is ory Committee to
th e Gov ernor's Cou nc il, in the town of V irginia. T his was a real s hot in the arm for me!
By c ontras t, th e Man itob a Gov ernment had n ev er as ked me or any CCM rep res entativ e to
c ons u l t or s p eak on th is is s u e. Qu ite th e c on trary, u s u all y we had to d o h and s tand s , or
more( !) , j u s t to get the attention of ou r own gov ern men t of f ic ial s.
T he good tu rnou t at V irginia, MN, and the l iv el y q u es tion p eriod that f ol l owed my tal k
was s trong ev id enc e to me that Minnes otans were s eriou s l y c onc erned ab ou t the p os s ib il ity
of their s tate b ec oming a target f or a rep os itory .
And with good reas on.
F rom a geo-p ol itic al s tan d p oint, the s tate was p artic u l arly v u lnerab l e. If it ev er c ame to a
toss -u p b etween a heav il y p op u l ated Mid d le A tl antic s tate and an es s entiall y ru ral
Min nes ota, the latter wou l d l os e -- hand s d own.
Du ring the q u es tion p eriod , one man in th e au d ien c e s u gges ted that n u c lear was te
rep os itories s hou ld b e c ons tru c ted " 'way u p North, " away from p op u l ated areas . Some
others nod d ed in agreement.

In itiall y, we h ad mad e the s ame p oint in ou r own p u b l ic meetings . Af ter s ome thou ght
howev er, q u es tions aros e:
Ju s t where is th is myth ic al , u n p op u lated p l ac e c al l ed " u p n orth" ? In the l and s and the
hu ntin g grou n d s of the ab original p eop l e?
W hat of th e moral q u es tion: Are the l iv es of the f ew in remote Northern areas any l ess
p rec iou s th an th os e of th e many in th e more d ens ely p op u l ated Sou thern regions ?
F u rthermore, who c an rel iab ly p red ic t what the earth's p op u lation d is trib u tion wil l b e
l ike thou san d s of years f rom n ow ?
I p ointed ou t to the gentleman that it was l ikely that th e d ec is ion makers in W ash in gton
c ons id ered h is ru ral Minnes ota b ac kyard to b e, u nmis takab l y, " u p North. " It was c ertainl y
c ons id erab ly f u rther n orth than Ch ic ago or W as hington, D. C. !
Bu t, as a p rac tic al matter, I d ou b t that the nu c l ear es tab l ish men t wou l d c ons id er b u il d ing a
mu lti-thou s and -mil e-l ong highway into a remote area of the Arc tic to tru c k in its n u c l ear
was te, any more than it wou l d b u ild a rep os itory u nd er the W hite Hou s e in W as hin gton.
In an y c as e, A E CL had alread y mad e it ab u n d antly c l ear j u s t h ow imp ortant th e matter of

"c onv enienc e" is to them.
T he trip to Virginia, Minn esota was timed to p rec ed e a tri-s tate nu c l ear was te c onf erenc e
in Su p erior, W is c on s in, Sep t 27-28 198 5. CCM had b een inv ited b y the State of
W is c ons in R ad ioac tiv e W as te Rev iew Board to p artic ip ate in th at c onf erenc e, whic h als o
in c lu d ed rep res entation from th e State of Mic higan.
Ann e W ies er, Donov an T immers an d I u s ed the op p ortu nity to exp res s ou r v iewp oints ,
hand ou t literatu re and network with the v ariou s c itizens ' grou p s in attend an c e. AE CL
p u b l ic rel ations s taff , n ev er mis s ing a tric k, als o had an inf ormation tab le there.
As th ey h and ed ou t their gloss y, mu lti-c ol ou red b roc hu res ( p rin ted at Canad ian taxp ayers '
exp ens e, of c ou rs e) , we d id ou r b es t to d is trib u te ou r own low-c ost, h igh -interest materials .
In the interes t of p res enting b oth s id es of the is s u e, CCM mad e a p rac tic e of han d ing ou t
s ome A E CL p amp hlets at p u b lic ev ents , and we d id s o at the W isc ons in meetin g. T o the
b es t of my kn owl ed ge, A E CL nev er rec ip roc ated , and I wond ered if the d ay wou ld ev er
c ome when " th e nu kes " wou l d d is trib u te inf ormation p rep ared b y its c ritic s . A l th ou gh a
c as e c ou ld b e mad e to req u ire a F ed eral Crown Corp oration, u s in g p u b l ic f u nd s , to d o s o, I
s omeh ow d ou b ted it wou l d ev er h ap p en.
On e of the h igh lights of the c onf eren c e f or u s was a u nan imou s resolu tion of the c itizens '
grou p s man d ating the Premiers of O ntario and Manitob a, al ong with th e Gov ernors of the
th ree s tates to f orm a c oal ition to p romote th e interes ts of al l c itizens of the region
regard ing the nu c l ear waste is s u e. Al thou gh the res ol u tion its el f got b ogged d own in the
mac h in ery of gov ernments, it wou ld not b e lon g b efore ev ents res u l ted in p art of that
c oalition mand ate b ec oming a real ity.
W e retu rned f rom the c onf erenc e tired , b u t exhil arated . Ou r ties with like-mind ed p eop l e
in ou r region of North A meric a en c ou raged u s an d s trengthened ou r d etermination. A s an
immed iate neighb ou r, the State of Minn esota was p artic u larl y s ens itiv e to th e internal

p ol itic al s itu ation in eas tern Manitob a.
Its of fic ials knew that th e Man itob a Gov ernment, as well as the op p osition p arties , were
not op p os ed to the U S Dep artment of E n ergy res earc h ac tiv ities at Lac d u Bon net. T h ey
were aware of the ec onomic and p olitic al reas ons wh y the Pawley gov ernment d id not want
to j eop ard ize its gen eral l y f av ou rab le p os ition in th at p art of the Prov in c e.
T hu s , the rel ation sh ip with CCM took on ad d ed imp ortanc e as p art of the State
Gov ern men t' s ov eral l s trategy in d ealing with th e d el ic ate is su e in E as tern M anitob a.
W e b ec ame aware that th e two State Gov ernments were d oing what th ey c ou ld , es p ec iall y
th rou gh th eir Con gres s ional d elegations , to d eal with the Canad ian s itu ation throu gh their
W as hington lob b ying eff orts .
Min nes ota was n ot relu c tan t to p u b l ic ly v oic e its c on c ern s ov er ev ents in E as tern
Manitob a. It d id s o firs t onl y one month af ter A E CL annou n c ed th at it was negotiating an
agreement with th e U S Dep artment of E nergy whic h wou l d inc lu d e d eep ening the U R L
s haf t at Lac d u Bonnet.
On F eb ru ary 1 8, 19 85, Gregg Lars on , s p okes man for the Min nes ota E nv iron men tal
Qu ality Board was rep orted in th e W inn ip eg F ree Pres s as s ayin g that th e State was
op p os ed to nu c l ear was te s torage on eith er s id e of the b ord er. He exp res s ed c onc ern ov er
th e j oint A E CL - DOE tes tin g in Manitob a on the grou nd s that it c ou l d en c ou rage DO E to
foc u s on s imil ar roc k in Minn esota.
A more f ormal exp res sion of Min nes ota's c onc ern c ame in a l etter, May 29, 1985 , f rom
T homas Kal itows ki, Ch airman of the Min nes ota Gov ernor's T as k F orc e on High-Lev el
Rad ioac tiv e W as te, to Manitob a Premier Howard Pawl ey. Kalitows ki reiterated Lars on' s
p oint that th e A E CL - DOE tes tin g in eas tern Manitob a c ou l d lead to an u nd ergrou nd
nu c l ear d u mp in ad j ac ent Minn esota roc k formation s .
CCM ob tained a c op y of Kal itows ki' s l etter to Premier Pawley, and waited in v ain for the
Manitob a Gov ernment to rel ease it to th e p u b l ic . F in all y, af ter nearl y a month wen t b y,
CCM rel eas ed a c op y of it to the med ia. T h e s tory ap p eared in the nation al Glob e and
Mail on Ju ne 25, 1 985. It was c lear th at Minnes ota of fic ials c ons id ered the
c ommu nic ation " . . . an of f ic ial l etter of s trong c onc ern. "
Premier Pawl ey's ans wer to Kalitows ki, in a l etter d ated Ju ne 24, 1 985, c ontain ed sev eral
in teres tin g p oints .
T he firs t was that the Manitob a Gov ern men t had not yet rec eiv ed any
inf ormation f rom AE CL ab ou t the Jan u ary, 19 85, thirty mill ion d oll ar DO E
p rop os al and was awaitin g " . . . c larif ic ation and a s tatu s rep ort on th e U nited
States ' p rop os al an d an ind ic ation of the p os ition taken b y AE CL. "
F u rther, Premier Pawl ey exp res s ed s eriou s res erv ations ab ou t an y s ignific ant c hanges to the
Lac d u Bonn et p roj ec t. He tol d Kal itows ki that
" F rom ou r p ers p ec tiv e, any major al terations in the exis tin g res earc h p rojec t, as
origin all y d es ign ed , wil l b e s u b j ec t to extens iv e as s es s men t b ef ore ap p rov al is
c on sid ered b y the p rov in c e. An imp ortant el ement of th at as s es s men t wil l b e

p u b l ic c ons u l tation. You r v iews will b e wel c ome at an y meetings we may hav e in
this regard s . "
Pawl ey c losed h is letter b y s u gges ting ( to ou r v as t amu s ement!) th at Kalitows ki
" . . . may al s o wish to c orres p ond with th e Committee of Conc erned Citizens who
hav e b een d is c u s s ing th is is s u e with u s ." T h e Premier ( kind l y) p rov id ed
Kalitows ki with the CCM Lac d u Bonn et ad d res s .
CCMers had many a lau gh ov er the ironies of that on e, in v iew of the f ac t th at we were
alread y on a firs t-name b as is with s ome of th e State off ic ial s .
Bu t, mos t imp ortantly, th e Pawl ey gov ern men t nev er d id engage in p u b lic ass es s ments or
c ons u l tations c onc erning th e DO E - A E CL agreement.
Perhap s th e Man itob a Gov ernment c on s id ered that v irtu al ly d ou b ling the d ep th of the
240 metre s haf t, with all that entail ed , d id n ot c ons titu te
" ( a) . . . major al teration in the exis tin g res earc h p rojec t, as original ly d es igned . "
W e real l y b egan to wond er ju s t what ou r Prov in c ial Gov ernment wou ld c on sid er to b e a ". .
. maj or al teration?"
W hat ab ou t an ac tu al d u mp f or the worl d 's nu c l ear was te? W ou l d the Manitob a

Gov ern men t p erhap s c ons id er that to b e a " . . . maj or alteration . . . in the existing res earc h
p rojec t?"
Min nes ota of f ic ial s d id not make an is s u e of this p oint, al thou gh we c ertain ly u rged them
to d o s o. W e thou ght it was an id eal op p ortu nity to p u s h the Manitob a Gov ernment in to
p u b l ic h earings . It s eemed , howev er, th at Minnes ota was more c onc erned with the f ac t th at
it was b eing exc l u d ed f rom the DO E -AE CL negotiations regard ing the Lac d u Bonn et
res earc h.
In d eed , M inn es ota of f ic ial s were v ery u nhap p y with the f ac t that they were not p riv y to
th e n egotiations going on b etween A E CL and DO E c on c ern ing the p rop os ed j oin t res earc h
p rojec t in Man itob a.
Sev eral exc han ges of letters b etween Minn esota State of f ic ial s an d DO E yield ed n o res u l ts .
DO E s imp ly ref u s ed to releas e its p rop os al to AE CL and tol d th e State th at it wou l d b e
in formed of the f in al d ec is ion at some l ater time.
By late 198 5, it s eemed as if we were al l waitin g arou n d to s ee what wou ld hap p en next.
W ou l d Minnes ota b e " the lu c ky winner" as a p otential n u c l ear was te rep os itory State?
W ou l d the agreement to extend the Lac d u Bonn et res earc h b etween DO E and A E CL b e
c ons u mmated ? W ou l d th e Man itob a Gov ernment b egin to s ee the light, or, ev en , the
b ottom of th e s haf t?
Du ring the latter p art of 198 5, CCM c ontinu ed to nu rtu re its c ontac ts with its al lies to the

Sou th. T he s hoc king ev ents earl y in 19 86 ju stif ied al l the organ izational
eff orts of the p rec ed in g months and years .
R E D R IVE R VA LLE Y
In the Red R iv er V all ey? I d on 't b eliev e it -- they c ou ld n 't b e that s tu p id !"
T hat was my as tonis hed res p ons e to the c all from th e Minn esota State Gov ernment staf f er
on th e morning of Janu ary 16, 1986 .
His off ic e h ad ad v anc e word that U S Sec retary of E nergy, Joh n Herrin gton, was going to
annou nc e the l oc ation s of all the p otential nu c lear was te rep os itory s ites in "c rys tall ine
roc k s tates " and that f ou r of them were in northwes t Minnes ota's Red R iv er V all ey.
F l owing th rou gh farml and , n orth al ong th e North Dakota-Minnes ota b ord er, into s ou th ern
Manitob a, throu gh the heart of th e City of W in nip eg, the Red Riv er emp ties into Lake
W innip eg. F rom there, its waters u l timatel y f ind their way into the great Hu d s on Bay, and
b eyond , to the A rc tic O c ean.
"R ed Riv er V al ley!" Inc red ib l e! W e wou l d c ertainl y h av e to make u p s ome new word s to
th e ol d f olk s ong of th at name!
T he c ertainty was that a wh ole new d imens ion had b een ad d ed to the nu c l ear waste
c ontrov ersy .
DO E 's Janu ary 16 , 198 6 annou n c emen t was p art of its ef fort to c arry ou t the in ten t of the
US Nu c l ear W as te Pol ic y A c t of 1982 . Its " Draf t A rea R ec ommen d ation R ep ort" and
ac c omp anying annou nc ement of p u b l ic inf ormation meetings and hearings h ad b een th e
s ou rc e of c ons id erab l e antic ip ation and s p ec u lation in the Americ an s tates with c rys tal l ine
roc k f ormations . T he wh ole exerc is e had b egu n with a DOE n ational su rv ey of c rys tal l ine
roc k, f rom wh ic h 23 5 sp ec if ic roc k f ormations in s ev enteen s tates were id entif ied . T hes e
were in the North Cen tral , North eas tern and Sou th eas tern region s of th e c ou ntry .
Now, the nu mb er had b een s hort-l is ted to twenty s ites in s ev en s tates . E igh t of them were
in the State of Min nes ota, with fou r of th e eight in the Red R iv er v all ey waters hed . T he
od d s f or a Min nes ota d u mp were gettin g b etter al l the time!
Red R iv er Val l ey Site#1 was l oc ated th irty-eight mil es n ortheas t of F argo-Moorhead , and
ap p roximatel y one hu nd red miles s ou th of the Canad ian b ord er. It was s itu ated on p rime,
c u l tiv ated agric u l tu ral l and .
Site#2 was loc ated s ix miles wes t of T h ief Riv er F all s an d ab ou t f if ty mil es from th e
Canad ian b ord er. It, too, was on farm l and , with as mu c h as three to f iv e h u nd red f eet of
glac ial ov erb u rd en (ie. , a mix of s oils , l oos e roc ks , etc ., whic h in many c as es p rod u c es ric h
farm land ) ab ov e the c rys tal l in e b ed roc k.

Both s ites #1 and #2 were c on s id ered b y DO E to b e p rimary s ites in Minnes ota targeted
for f u tu re f ield s tu d ies an d inv estigation s.
A " b ac k-u p " S ite#3 was l oc ated twenty s ix mil es n orth wes t of T h ief Riv er F al l s and ab ou t
th irty fiv e mil es s ou th of th e Canad ian b ord er -- again, in exc l u s iv el y agric u l tu ral l and s .
A f ou rth p os sib l e site was on the Mis s is s ip p i - Hu d s on Bay Div id e, the p oint at whic h
s u rfac e d rainage s p lits b etween the s ou th-f lowing M is s iss ip p i Riv er an d the north-f lowin g
Red R iv er. T his s ite al s o was oc c u p ied b y p rime agric u l tu ral lan d .
Of the remainin g f ou r s ites in Minnes ota, n one were in waters hed s f lowin g n orth toward
Canad a.
DO E 's p lan was to get p u b lic in p u t into the d raf t area rec ommen d ation s, rev iew the
c ommen ts and p u b lis h a f inal rep ort whic h wou ld b e the so-c al led " d ec is ion-b as is
d oc u ment" f or th e id entif ic ation of p otentiall y ac c ep tab l e s ites. It wou ld d es c rib e th e
d etail ed p roc es s l ead ing u p to the f ormal id en tif ic ation of p oten tial c rys tall ine roc k s ites .
T his same p roc es s of grad u al ly red u c ing the n u mb er of p otential s ites to a s hort l is t had
alread y taken p l ac e in the W es tern " 1 s t rou nd " states . In F eb ru ary, 1 983, DO E had
worked thos e d own to nine p otential s ites in s ix s tates and l ater to three s ites in Nev ad a,
T exas and W as hington. T he s ite f or the firs t U S u nd ergrou n d n u c l ear was te rep os itory,
s c hed u l ed to b egin op eration b y 1998 was to b e in one of th os e three States .
T he s iting of a s ec ond rep os itory, au thorized b y the U S law, wou ld n ot take p lac e u n til
ab ou t 2006 , and wou l d d ep end on s p ec if ic au thorization f rom the Congres s . DO E 's s earc h
for a "2 nd rou nd " rep os itory c onc en trated on th e S tates with c rys tall ine roc k b od ies
s u c h as the Camb rian Shield granite in Min nes ota, W is c ons in and Mic h igan .
Howev er, the 2 nd rou nd States exp res s ed c ons id erab le c onc ern that the DOE might
c hoos e one of them for the f irst( !) rep os itory . T h is c onc ern was heightened b y th e f ac t that
th e three W es tern S tates had c hal lenged the DOE s ite s el ec tion c riteria an d p roc ess and
had lau nc hed c ou rt ac tion agains t the DO E f or al l eged v iol ations of the Nu c l ear W as te
Pol ic y A c t.
Canad ian s had al read y b ec ome inv ol v ed in th e U S p roc es s d u ring DO E 's earlier s ite
s c reen ing. T he c ros s b ord er as p ec t of the nu c l ear was te iss u e was not new. T h e mos t
p u b l ic ized ev en t had b een in th e n orthern V ermon t - s ou thern Q u éb ec region .
In the Sp ring of 19 85, DO E had id entified nine c rys tal line roc k f ormation s in th e State of
Vermont, three of whic h were near the Canad ian b ord er. A t l eas t one ac tu al ly c ros s ed into
th e E as tern T owns hip s region of Qu éb ec , near Stans tead .
As p art of its p lan , the DO E had organized an Ap ril 24, 1985 inf ormation meeting in the
v il l age of W es t Charl eston , Vermont, ab ou t ten mil es f rom the b ord er. T he U S agen c y h ad
res tric ted its s c ien tif ic and d emograp h ic s tu d ies to its s id e of the b ord er, an d the Canad ian
au thorities kn ew nothing ab ou t th e s itu ation .
An al ert Can ad ian Cu s toms of f ic ial l earned ab ou t th e u p c omin g meetin g j u s t s ev eral d ays

p rior to the ev ent. W ord s p read q u ic kl y in Q u éb ec 's E as tern T owns h ip s , res u l tin g in an
amazing organizational eff ort on the p art of many in d iv id u als and grou p s . Hu n d red s of
Qu éb ec ers d es c en d ed on th e V ermont v il lage and j oin ed their U S neighb ou rs to p rotes t
th e p oten tial s ites.
T he p os s ib l e n ear-b ord er nu c l ear d u mp s ites rap id l y b ec ame an ov ernight internation al

in c id en t. Loc al res id ents an d p olitic ians were th e f irs t to exp res s th eir ind ign ation. Qu éb ec
res id ent ( and Can ad ian Cu s toms of f ic er) Jean Chou q u ette was q u oted in Vermont's Keen e
Sentinel on A p ril 2 5, 19 85, as s aying
" W e d on 't want a nu c lear was te rep os itory at ou r b ac k d oor,. . .( an d ) . . . T he

DO E , they think nothing exis ts n orth of th e 45 th p aral l el. "
In the Ap ril 2 5th ed ition of Canad a' s national Gl ob e and Mail , Stan stead res id ent Mars ha
Sc hwartz was rep orted as s ayin g that s he h ad nev er s een p eop le in the area s o worked u p
ov er an is s u e:
" You ng and old , F renc h and E nglis h, p eop l e who hav e nev er b een ac tiv e b ef ore,
are c oming together on this ."
T he c ontrov ers y c ontin u ed th rou gh th e A u tu mn of 19 85. Cons erv ationis ts exp ress ed
c onc ern ov er the p os s ib l e imp ac t of a n u c lear was te d u mp on lakes and water s u p p l ies.
Peter W el d on , an env ironmental ac tiv is t, as wel l as a Sherb rooke, Q u éb ec lawyer an d an
of fic iall y q u al if ied langu age trans l ator, p rov id ed the O c tob er 2 , 198 5 ed ition of the
Sherb rooke Rec ord with an E ngl is h l angu age trans c rip t of a s p eec h mad e in F renc h b y
Vermont state geologis t, Ch arl es Ratte.
In h is remarks at the Sherb rooke meeting, R atte c l earl y ou tl ined the of f ic ial b as is f or
Vermont's op p osition to DOE 's c ry stal line roc k p rogram, n amel y the p otential p rob lems
with f rac tu red roc k, the d is c riminatory u s e of ru ral, l ow p op u l ation regions , and
trans p ortation hazard s .
Ratte s tated he was
" . . . p ers onal ly not in f av ou r of geol ogic d is p osal of high-l ev el rad ioac tiv e was te. "
He p ointed ou t th at
" . . . one onl y h as to look at th e l es s -than -s u c c es s f u l rec ord that is amas s in g with
regard to d is p os al of was tes in the su b s u rf ac e.
"To continue this simplistic technology with materials of ever increasing and
long-lived toxicity is, in my estimation, not only unconscionable, but not done in
the best interest of everyone and lacks innovations and creativity. There is nothing
magic about burying the waste at depths of two or three thousand feet
(approximately 600 to 900 metres)."
Ratte u rged great c au tion if geol ogic d is p os al s hou ld go f orward , n oting that
" . . . T he d eep geol ogic al d is p os al tec hnology has nev er b een attemp ted b ef ore b y

mankind . "
T he u l timate V ermont res p on se c ame f rom its tou gh -mind ed Gov ernor, Mad el eine Ku n in.
In an A p ril 30, 1 985 l etter to John Herrington, then U S E n ergy Sec retary, s he c hal lenged
his s earc h for a rep ository s ite in Vermont's granite roc k. Sh e exp res s ed the main c onc ern
of many p eop le wh en s h e s tated that
" Crys tal line roc k f ormations are typ ic al ly f rac tu red and c on tain grou nd water in
v arying q u antities u nd er artes ian c ond ition s ."
She als o mad e th e of t-stated p oint that the U S nu c lear was te s iting p rogram c on tained
c riteria wh ic h targeted s p ars el y p op u l ated an d ru ral areas . In no u n c ertain terms , the
Gov ern or tol d the E n ergy Sec retary
" . . . ( th at) " I f irmly b el iev e that if the f ac ility is n't f ool p roof it mu s t not b e b u il t.
If it is , it c an b e loc ated any where. "
Gov ern or Ku nin p u t h er f in ger on one of th e mos t f l agran t c ontrad ic tion s in nu c l ear waste
man agemen t p rograms . O n the one han d , the p u b l ic is tol d b y the n u c l ear es tab lis hment
th at u n d ergrou nd " d is p os al" is s afe. Bu t on th e other hand , th eir eff orts f or res earc h and
s iting al l s eem to c onc en trate on low p op u l ation areas . A s the Gov ern or s aid , if it real ly is
s afe, and foolp roof, ". . . it c an b e loc ated any where. "
Grad u all y, the is s u e es c al ated , f inal l y f orc ing th e Canad ian Gov ern men t to c ome ou t
s trongl y again s t U S rep os itory sites n ear the international b ord er. Canad ian E xternal
Af f airs sp okes p ers on, S tan Gooc h was rep orted in the Stans tead , Q u éb ec Jou rnal , O c tob er
2, 19 85, as s aying
" O ttawa wou l d n't b e s atis f ied with any p erc entage of risk and that th e Bou nd ary
W ater T reaty c l early s tates that there c annot b e any th reat to the wel l -b eing of
Canad ians or to th e Canad ian env ironment -- not s ome p erc entage of threat."
T he s ame artic l e rev ealed that on A u gu s t 29th, 1 985, th e Canad ian Gov ern men t s ent a
d ip lomatic n ote to th e U S wh ic h res u l ted in a Sep temb er 11, 1985 meetin g b etween th e
US E nergy S ec retary Herrington, and the Can ad ian M inis ter f or E nergy, Mines and
Res ou rc es , Pat Carney . T h at meeting res u lted in c onf lic tin g rep orts ov er U S intent
c onc erning near-b ord er rep os itory s iting.
E v entu al l y, af ter s ev eral more high l ev el meetings b etween Canad a and the US, the
Americ an s agreed th at they wou ld exc l u d e any s ites whic h wou ld
" . . . res u l t in s amp l ing or f iel d s tu d ies need ed in Can ad a, s o any s ites ad jac en t to
Canad a wou ld b e el iminated . "
Of c ou rs e, this s til l l ef t op en the tru e d efinition of th e term " ad j ac ent."
Bu t, l argely as a res u l t of Canad ian interv ention , the s ites in northern V ermont were
d rop p ed f rom the DOE s hort lis t of Jan u ary 1 6, 19 86.
On e p ers on al ou tc ome of the Qu éb ec -V ermont inc id ent was th at Ph yl and I b ec ame

ac q u ainted with s ome of the p eop le in v ol v ed in the c ontrov ersy . O n s u b s eq u ent trip s to
th e area, we f el l in lov e with the geograp hy of the E as tern T own s hip s thems elv es.
Su rrou nd ed b y the natu ral b eau ty of lakes and mou n tains , it is n o wond er that many
artis ts and writers l iv e there. W e b egan to th ink ab ou t the area as a p os sib l e "retu rn- b ac k-
E as t" p l ac e to l iv e.
Con c ern ov er p roximity of nu c l ear was te d u mp s to th e U S Can ad ian b ord er p ers is ted and
s u rfac ed on c e again in Minnes ota's R ed R iv er V all ey. T he c ross -b ord er is s u e had s imp ly
mov ed wes t.
T he s iting of p oten tial U S rep os itories in Minnes ota was n ot at all u nexp ec ted . Bu t the
p rop os ed l oc ation of fou r of th e s ites in the State c ame as a s hoc k, b oth to u s and to
Min nes otans .
It had b een wid el y exp ec ted th at the northeas tern p art of the State wou ld b e the main
target. T here, the Camb rian roc k is q u ite v is ib l e, u nl ike in the Red Riv er v all ey where, in
most p l ac es it is b u ried b en eath s ev eral hu nd red metres of gl ac ial ov erb u rd en, (i. e.,
farml and ) .
T hat the S tate was c au ght of f gu ard was ev id enc ed b y the v irtu al ab sen c e of any organized
c itizens ' grou p s in the Red R iv er Val l ey region of Minn esota. T he imp ortanc e of th e R ed
Riv er to the City of W innip eg mad e it on ly natu ral that Min nes otans wou l d tu rn to
Canad a f or some hel p in f ighting the DO E ac tion.
Bu t whil e ev eryon e was p reoc c u p ied with the northern Min nes ota s ites , DO E was q u ietl y
s ealing its d eal with AE CL on the Lac d u Bonn et f ront. T h e c on trov ers y ov er the
lon g-awaited agreement had b een al l b u t b u ried in the av al anc he of p u b l ic ity su rrou nd ing
th e Minn esota Red R iv er V all ey sites .
W e learned ab ou t the annou nc ement f rom the news med ia. T here was to b e a f u l l-f led ged
news c onf erenc e, s tarring non e other th an Manitob a's F ed eral Cab in et Minis ter and
s tau nc h ad v oc ate of the AE CL nu c l ear res earc h es tab lis hment ( whic h j u s t hap p en ed to b e
in his eastern Manitob a c ons titu enc y ) -- Jake E p p .
Al thou gh d ef initel y u ninv ited , CCM d ec id ed to attend . T he s ec ret agreemen t whic h h ad

c au s ed s o mu c h c on sternation was ab ou t to b e u nv eil ed for the p u b l ic . W e wou ld not mis s
it for anything.
Ab ou t a d ozen CCM memb ers , s ome with you ng c hild ren , f il ed in to the Sheraton Hotel
c onf erenc e room on Satu rd ay, M arc h 22 , 198 6. A E CL off ic ial s were ob v iou s ly not hap p y
ab ou t ou r u ns c hed u led ap p earan c e, b u t with med ia rep res en tativ es p res ent, they mad e no
mov e to ev ic t u s . W e s at and lis tened to Jake E p p p aint a ros y p ic tu re of th e agreement,
with its b enef its to s c ien c e an d mankind .
W hen E p p finis hed , med ia p eop l e s tarted q u es tionin g h im and AE CL ab ou t the agreement
and its imp l ic ations . Grad u al l y, we b egan to in terj ec t ou r own q u es tions .
Af terward s , we mad e s ome imp romp tu remarks to th e med ia ab ou t th e d eal , an d en gaged in

s ome b an ter with E p p and A E CL s p okes p ersons . Bu t we d id n't p u ll any p u nc h es ab ou t ou r

c onc erns ab ou t th e d eal and its imp l ic ations .
Iron ic al ly , we l earn ed l ittl e more ab ou t th e agreement than we al read y knew. U p on

ref l ec tion , I real ly d on 't u nd ers tan d why A E CL ins is ted on keep ing the DO E p rop os al a
s ec ret all th os e months . T he resu lt of that kin d of u nn ec es sary s ec rec y s erv ed onl y to
fu rther ou r c onv ic tion that A E CL regard ed its elf , not as an agen c y ac c ou ntab l e to th e
Canad ian taxp ayer, b u t as a l aw u n to its el f .
An exc el len t s u mmary of th e d eal and its imp l ic ations was s et f orth in an Au gu s t 22, 1986
memorand u m p rep ared b y Bob Hal s tead of the W is c on s in State R ad ioac tiv e W as te Rev iew
Board :
DO E wou l d p rov id e A E CL with 3 2.6 mill ion Canad ian d ol l ars in c as h , tec hnic al exp ertis e,
and s u p p ort s erv ic es ov er the p eriod F is c al Year 19 86 -1 989, retroac tiv e to Nov emb er,
1985 . Mos t of the work wou ld b e c ond u c ted at AE CL's u nd ergrou nd tes t f ac il ity in th e
Ru ral M u nic ip ality of Lac d u Bon net. Hals tead id entif ied f ou r major task areas u nd er th e
agreement:
T he sh aft wou ld b e extend ed to 455 metres ( from its original 24 0 metres ) , and
s tu d ies wou l d take p lac e at that d ep th,
DO E and AE CL wou l d p artic ip ate in c oop erativ e geos c ientif ic exp eriments,
DO E wou ld p artic ip ate in A E CL f ield work, inc l u d ing th e d rill ing of three A E CL b ore
h o les ,
DO E and AE CL wou l d exc h ange c omp u ter mod el s f or ass es s ment of rep os itory s ys tem
p erf ormanc e.
Hal s tead exp lained how eac h of the fou r ac tiv ities wou l d ". . .s ignif ic antl y ass is t DO E 's
c ry stal line rep os itory p rogram in th e U S. "
He al s o mad e the imp ortant p oin t that the agreement, in c lu d in g the s haf t extens ion wou ld
p ermit DO E to gain exp erienc e at the d ep ths req u ired f or a rep os itory u nd er U S law, b u t
not req u ired u nd er the Canad ian p rogram.
T he s igned agreement d id not b oth er d ogmatic Canad ian s u p p orters of AE CL's res earc h
p rogram. Prov in c ial E nv ironment M inis ter Gerard Lec u yer was rep orted as b eing b as ic all y
u nc on c ern ed with it. An d the W inn ip eg F ree Pres s, in its Marc h 26, 1986 ed itorial on th e
agreement s aid
" T o op p os e ev en the res earc h is to d etermine in ad v anc e th at u n d ergrou nd

s torage wil l b e c arried ou t wh eth er or not the res earc h p rov es that it c an b e d on e
s af ely and f u rther to as s u me that any res earc h is not to b e tru s ted if it s atis fies
s c ientis ts that p roc ed u res are s af e."
T his from th e s ame n ews p ap er that twic e, h ad ed itoriall y s lap p ed AE CL on the wris t for its
p rematu re d ec l arations of the s u c c es s of its u nd ergrou n d c onc ep t -- d ec laration s that had
b een mad e wel l b ef ore the geol ogic al res earc h had b een b egu n, mu c h l es s c omp l eted .
It was my h op e th at the Manitob a p u b l ic was not b eing mis led b y the newsp ap er's
freq u ently ill ogic al ( and of ten inac c u rate) ed itorials on the n u c l ear was te is s u e.
F or b etter or wors e, th e d eal was s ealed at that Marc h 22, 1 986 c eremony. A nd then, al l
we c ou l d d o was to watc h an d wait.
W hil e we were watc h in g, yet an oth er d eal , this time with Jap an, was an nou nc ed b y A E CL.
On A p ril 18, 1 986, AE CL annou nc ed that it h ad s igned a th ree year, $8 74, 000 p ac t with
Power Reac tor and Nu c lear F u el Dev el op ment Corp oration of Jap an to ob s erv e h yd ro
geologic al s tu d ies at b ore hol es at th e W hites hel l Nu c l ear R es earc h E s tab lis hment s ite at
Pinawa. News ac c ou nts rep orted AE CL's Dr. Rob ert Dixon as s ayin g the agreemen t was s o
minor that it p rob ab ly d id n 't warran t a statement, b u t one was is s u ed
" . . . in antic ip ation of ac c u s ations b y W al ter R ob b ins of Conc erned Citizen s of

Man itob a" ( ital ic s s u p p l ied )
T ou c hed and f lattered b y A E CL's c onf id enc e in my c ritic al ab ilities ( !), in s ome ways th e
Jap anes e d eal c onc erned me more than th e on e with the Americ an s. W hil e the U S h as
p l enty of wid e op en s p ac es in its W es tern States and migh t s til l gain ac c es s to a U S s ite,
we know that Jap an has ov erc rowd ed c ond itions , a s mal l l and mas s, and a geologic al
history of n u merou s earthq u akes.
( W e als o know that Jap an c an, and p rob ab l y wil l b u y sp ac e el s ewh ere f or its rap id l y
growing stoc kp il es of high-lev el rad ioac tiv e was te.)
V ICT O R Y IN T HE SO U T H
W hen that c all ab ou t the R ed R iv er s ites c ame throu gh f rom St. Pau l , Minnes ota, early on
Jan u ary 1 6, 19 86, I knew that CCM h ad a s c oop .
As I p u t the p hone d own, my hand was s haking. F or a time, al l I c ou l d d o was stare ou t the
kitc hen win d ow of ou r Hars tone Street hou s e in W in nip eg. T h is was a n ews s tory, and it
was a b ig one. W e n eed ed to inf orm al l the med ia.
W e was ted no time. Donov an T immers and I mad e a s weep of W innip eg and National
med ia ou tl ets that morning. A nd the jou rn alis ts res p ond ed q u ic kly.
T he Glob e an d M ail Janu ary 17 , 198 6 artic le emp has ized ou r main p oints:
Some d ay W innip eg c ou l d b e s u rrou nd ed b y nu c lear was te d u mp s , one to the E as t
( p res u mab l y Pin awa or n orthwes t O ntario) and now, on e to th e Sou th, and that
b oth the Red R iv er and the W innip eg Riv er s ys tems were at ris k.
In a f oll ow-u p s tory th e n ext d ay the Gl ob e and Mail q u oted Man itob a E n v ironment
Min is ter, Gerard Lec u y er as s aying there wou l d b e a " tremend ou s negativ e imp ac t" on th e
Prov inc e s h ou l d an ac c id ent oc c u r.
In the s ame s tory, A E CL s p okes man , E gon F rec h, was rep orted as s ayin g that
Minnes ota c ou l d b e a p rime c and id ate f or a was te d u mp b ec au s e of res earc h that

had b een c arried ou t in Canad a; and that it wou l d b e p os s ib le f or the U .S. to u s e

the Can ad ian f ind ings to exp ed ite its own res earc h into u nd ergrou nd s torage.
F rec h had v oic ed the s ame p oin t that h ad d eep l y c on c ern ed th e Minnes ota Gov ern men t
ab ou t th e j oint A E CL-DO E res earc h at Lac d u Bonn et.
T he Minnes ota nu c l ear was te iss u e was the f ron t p age l ead s tory in the W innip eg F ree
Pres s on Janu ary 17, 1986 . U nd er the head line "Nu c l ear W as te Sites O p p osed By
Prov inc e," the artic le rep orted " c onc ern" on the p art of Canad ian E xternal A ff airs Minis ter,
Joe Clark, ov er the s ites that were in or near water b as ins that f low into Can ad a.
It was ob v iou s f rom the artic le that Man itob a Gov ernment of f ic ial s were reac ting
v igorou s ly to the tu rn of ev en ts s ou th of the b ord er in a way that they had nev er reac ted to
th e n u c lear was te tes ting in the eastern p art of th eir own Prov inc e.
Both the Premier and the E n v ironment Minis ter mad e s trong s tatements ab ou t the ris ks of
s u c h a f ac ility in the Red Riv er Val ley and their d etermin ation to d o ev ery th ing p os s ib l e to
p rev ent the s iting of rep os itories in that area of M inn es ota.
By Janu ary 24, Man itob a and Minnes ota of fic ials were wel l into a j oin t s trategy to f ight the
DO E d ec is ion. T entativ e d ates f or meetings b etween the M anitob a Premier and the
Gov ern ors of M inn es ota and North Dakota were s et. T he Premier wrote to Can ad ian
Min is ter of E xternal A ff airs, Joe Clark, as king him to make Man itob a' s c on c ern s known to
th e U . S. A d min is tration.
Min nes ota Gov ernor Ru d y Perp ic h was ted no time in p u b l ic l y q u es tioning the DO E
Min nes ota s ites. Af ter s aying th at his State d id n ot ob jec t to ef f orts to f ind a s af e solu tion,
th e Gov ernor lamb as ted the s el ec tion p roc es s . He p ointed to Minnes ota' s wealth of f res h
water.
" Minnes ota is a h ead -waters s tate with a u niq u e res p ons ib il ity to p rotec t water
q u ality. R ad ioac tiv e c ontamination of ou r water wou ld not ju s t harm
Minnes otans . It wou ld al s o af f ec t the mil lions of A meric ans and Can ad ians
d owns tream who are d ep en d ent on th e Mis s is s ip p i an d Red Riv ers an d th e Great
Lakes. "
T he Gov ernor mad e a p ers u as iv e c as e.
W hil e the p ol itic ian s and the ac tiv is ts geared u p f or the f ight, ed itorial writers were tu rn ing
th ems el v es in-s id e ou t in th eir eff orts to b e c ons tru c tiv e and ob j ec tiv e ab ou t the p otential
nu c l ear was te s ites , while s til l heed ing p u b lic op inion.
F or examp l e, the St. Clou d , Minnes ota Dail y T imes ed itorial on Janu ary 17 , 198 6
c onc l u d ed with the f ol l owing s tatement:
" F or th e s ake of the nation's f u tu re, f ed eral of f ic ials mu s t f ind th e s af es t p oss ib l e

p l ac e to s tore n u c lear was tes . F or the s ake of th e nation's f u tu re, that p lac e mu s t
not b e in Minn esota. "
T he T imes c ons id ered that too many p ol itic al f ac tors entered in to the s elec tion of the

Min nes ota s ites.
On Janu ary 22 , the W in nip eg F ree Pres s , af ter tou tin g the v irtu es of j oint U S Canad ian
res earc h ef forts in eas tern Man itob a, th rew a c ru mb to mou n ting ad v ers e p u b l ic op inion b y
c onc l u d ing
" So l ong as that c onc ern ( p os sib l e rep os itory leaks ) has v alid ity , Manitob a has a
right to in sis t that it s hou l d fac e no d an ger, howev er s light, of that material
entering waters wh ic h f l ow in to this p rov inc e. "
DO E s c hed u led eight p u b l ic inf ormation meetings at l oc ation s c l os e to the ac tu al s ites it

had id entif ied , ( mos t in s c hool au d itoriu ms ), b etween F eb ru ary 10 and 2 0, 19 86. A nother
s eries of p u b lic hearings at thes e loc ations in Marc h and A p ril , 19 86 were als o p l anned . In
ad d ition , the M inn es ota Gov ernor's Nu c lear W as te Cou nc il s c hed u l ed its own s eries of
p u b l ic meetin gs .
T he town of W arren was th e c l os es t of th e DO E loc ations to the Manitob a-Min nes ota
b ord er, with the meeting there to b e at th e W arren High Sc h ool on Mon d ay, F eb ru ary 1 7,
at 7: 00 PM. ( T he s c hed u le was releas ed l ess than a week p rior to that d ate!)
I ref lec ted on the earl ier Vermont exp erien c e. T h ere was no q u es tion in my mind that th e
b u s l oad s of Canad ians greatl y inf l u enc ed the c ou rs e of ev ents whic h led to th e el imination
of the Vermont s ites in the region known as " the Northeas t Kingd om. "
Peop l e c an, and s ometimes d o, make th e d if f eren c e. If v oic es are lou d and c lear,
b u reau c rats and p olitic ians s ometimes d o hear th em. T he Janu ary 17 ed ition of th e St.
Cl ou d , ( Min nes ota) Dail y T imes q u oted f armer Bob Stommes as s aying
" T h e gu y that p u ts u p th e b igges t f ight is p rob ab l y going to win. "
He s u mmed u p my f eel ings exac tly.
Bu t c ou l d we d u p l ic ate the Qu éb ec - Vermont exp erien c e? A fter all , this was Man itob a in
th e mid d l e of a harsh p rairie winter, not the s p ringtime it had b een d u ring the E as tern
T owns hip s - Vermont in c id en t. F u rthermore, th e p rop os ed s ites were not q u ite as c lose to
th e Canad ian b ord er as they had b een in New E ngl and .
As far as CCM c ou l d d etermine, no Manitob a grou p s were in th e p roc es s of p l ann ing an

exc u rs ion to W arren or to an y of the oth er s c hed u led p u b l ic hearin gs and meetin gs in
Min nes ota's Red Riv er Val ley . T h e s ame s p ontaneity, c oll ab oration and c oop erativ e
organization that had oc c u rred in th e E astern T owns hip s of Q u éb ec was not takin g p l ac e
in Man itob a.
Nev erthel es s , CCM d ec id ed to ac t. W e ap p roac hed s ev eral grou p s , inc l u d ing th e

W innip eg Un itarian Chu rc h. Hap p il y, s ev eral memb ers of the Chu rc h took u p the c au s e.
Ru th Brec kman, not on ly s u rf ac ed th e is s u e amon gst the U nitarians , b u t s oon mad e
c ontac t with Rev . Rob ert Kayes , E xec u tiv e Sec retary, Chris tian Dev el op ment Cou nc il , of
th e U nited Chu rc h of Canad a, W innip eg Pres b ytery.
Rev . Kayes was remarkab l e. W ithin 24 hou rs he had all th e l ogistic s worked ou t f or a

c hartered b u s rid e to W arren, Minnes ota.
F orty-on e Man itob an s f rom v ariou s c hu rc h and env ironmental grou p s f il ed onto th e
c hartered b u s in front of the Legis lativ e Bu ild ing in W innip eg at ab ou t 5 PM, on M ond ay,
Jan u ary 1 7, 19 86. A nother ten p eop l e op ted to d riv e their own c ars d own, b u t we were al l
hap p y to let th e b u s d riv er c ontend with the hars h elements and road c ond ition s that
d ev el op ed as we d rov e s ou th ward .
In good weather, we wou l d eas il y h av e arriv ed at W arren b y th e 7: 00 PM s tart of the

meeting. Bu t h eav y s n ows and s tron g win d s got wors e as we h ead ed Sou th. It was ob v iou s
th at we were going to b e q u ite late, es p ec ial ly af ter a l ong d el ay at the US b ord er s tation
where Cu stoms and Immigration of fic ials c aref u l l y c h ec ked th e c red en tial s of th os e who
d id n ot hav e s u f f ic ientl y ap p rop riate id entif ic ation.
W e arriv ed at the high sc h ool at ab ou t 8:1 5 PM. DO E rep res en tativ es were j u s t
c omp leting th eir p res entation and the q u es tion p eriod was ab ou t to b egin . Al l h ead s
tu rn ed as the Canad ian c on tingent f il ed d own the two s id e ais l es of th e well -fil led
au d itoriu m. A gen erou s rou n d of ap p lau s e wel c omed u s , as word q u ic kl y sp read as to who
we were, an d f rom where we had c ome, on this s nowy nigh t. W e fel t l ike c onq u ering heros !
T he timing c ou l d not h av e b een b etter. Hav ing alread y armed thems el v es with many of the
main f ac ts ab ou t the DO E nu c lear was te p rogram with l iteratu re s u p p l ied b ef ore and
d u ring the b u s rid e, the Canad ians were more than read y to p artic ip ate.
Canad ian med ia were well rep res en ted , s o the ev ent got good c ov erage b ac k in W innip eg.
T he artic l es q u oted some of the p u b lic s tatements mad e b y Can ad ian p artic ip ants d u ring
th e q u es tion p eriod . T he one I l iked b est was on the f ront p age of the W innip eg F ree
Pres s, th e n ext d ay, q u oting Kris Brec kman who s trongl y as s erted that
" It ( a nu ke d u mp ) . . . wou l d b e v iewed as a hos tile ac t agains t a f riend ly

neighb or. "
Pol itic ian s, med ia, and c itizens ' grou p s on b oth s id es of the b ord er mad e f req u en t
ref erenc es to the is s u e as another " Garris on Dam. " [ Canad ian and Manitob a Gov ernments
had b een waging a lon g-term b attle ( f in all y won) , ov er a p rop os ed mas s iv e riv er d iv ersion
p rojec t in North Dakota wh ic h was c on sid ered a th reat to the waters f l owing North into
Canad a.]
T he s ame artic l e q u oted Minnes ota State Senator Roger Moe as warn ing DO E not to
d isc ou nt the " Can ad ian Connec tion. " Moe s aid ,
" You may b e familiar with a p roj ec t c al led 'Garris on'. I c an as s u re you , the
Canad ians will b e mu c h more tou gh ab ou t a nu c lear was te d u mp in their b ac k
yard . "
And Bob Carl son, mayor of T h ief Riv er F all s ad d ed ,
" If you thou ght the p res s u re Canad a b rou ght to b ear on Garris on was something,
I c an tel l you there'l l real ly b e p res s u re f rom Canad a now."

W hen the meeting end ed , many Min nes otans c ame u p to the Can ad ian c ontingen t with
word s of than ks . O b v iou s ly , we had mad e u p in en th u s ias m for wh at we l ac ked in
nu mb ers . A ll an d all , it was a s u c c es s fu l v entu re, and on e that I d ou b t wil l ev er b e
forgotten b y thos e who p artic ip ated .
On c e again, I had the c hanc e to p oint ou t to the med ia that the Manitob a Gov ern men t was
b eing inc on s is tent in op p os ing p l ans for a Red Riv er d u mp , while al lowin g the Lac d u
Bonn et p roj ec t to es c alate.
T he W inn ip eg F ree Pres s ( F eb . 18) q u oted me as s ayin g
" T h ere are n o p olitic al liab ilities inv ol v ed in attac kin g the Minnes ota situ ation,
b u t there are ( p ol itic al l iab il ities ) in p u s hing too h ard on the eas tern Manitob a
s itu ation when you hav e 1, 100 j ob s at the W hitesh ell (A E CL, Pinawa) an d th e
p oten tial f or more job s at th e u n d ergrou nd res earc h l ab oratory."
T he hearings an d meetings went on into the Sp rin g of 198 6, many of them attend ed b y
Manitob a Gov ernment of fic ials who c on tinu ed to make s trong rep res en tations op p os ing
th e R ed Riv er V al ley s ites .
CCM kep t u p the p res s u re as wel l . Donov an T immers mad e ou r f ormal p res entation at th e
Ap ril 1, 1986 hearing at W arren, M inn es ota. He ad d res s ed CCM c onc erns ov er the DOE -
AE CL c onn ec tion with its imp l ic ations for b oth s id es of th e b ord er. He c onc l u d ed h is
p res entation with s ome p os itiv e s u gges tions f or alternativ e ap p roac h es to th e n u c lear was te
d ilemma. T h ey inc l u d ed :
no f u rther inc reas e in rad ioac tiv e was te p rod u c tion,
on s ite, monitored , retriev ab le, ab ov e-grou nd s torage " . . . s o eac h s u c c es s iv e
generation c an p rotec t and rep ac kage it u ntil a p rop er s ol u tion c an b e f ou nd ," and
res earc h into other op tions , ". . .inc l u d ing red u c tion or neu tralization of rad ioac tiv ity."
T he R ed R iv er V all ey c ontrov ersy c on tinu ed to rage throu gh ou t the Sp ring of 19 86. Pu b l ic

meetings and hearin gs went ac c ord ing to s c hed u l e, not onl y in Minnes ota, b u t in the other
s ix c rys tal l ine roc k s tates whic h were targeted b y DOE .
F or s ix years , CCM an d its s u p p orters had f ail ed to p ers u ad e the Gov ernments of Canad a
and Manitob a to hol d op en p u b l ic hearin gs on the nu c l ear was te is su e. An d now, in a tru ly
ironic twist, we fou nd ou rs elv es, as well as ou r own gov ern men t of f ic ials , freel y
p artic ip atin g in op en p u b lic foru ms b u t, in another c ou ntry( !) .
T his p oint was noted b y the W innip eg F ree Pres s jou rnalis t, F red Cl ev erley , wh o h ad
attend ed th e A p ril 1, 19 86 hearin g at W arren . Some time earl ier, in a rev iew in th at s ame
news p ap er, he had lamb as ted my b ook, Getting the Shaf t, on the grou nd s th at I was
in v entin g c on sp irac ies of s il enc e and s ec rec y in regard to a nu c lear was te d u mp in
Manitob a.
In h is c olu mn of Ap ril 3, he ob s erv ed th at
" T h e ( U . S.) p roc es s is interes ting in th at one of the main c omp l aints of th e
Conc erned Citizen s of Manitob a h as b een the l ac k of a p u b l ic f oru m in wh ic h to
d is c u s s th e res earc h work into was te s torage that is n ow b eing c ond u c ted b y
A tomic E nergy of Canad a Ltd . n ear Pinawa."
In that s tatement, I b eliev e Cl ev erley had c u t right throu gh to the heart of the matter.
W hatev er fl aws there might h av e b een in the U. S. p roc ess ( and there were many) , the
q u es tion of the b as ic righ t of the p u b lic to s p eak and b e heard in an op en, p u b l ic f oru m,
was not one of them. It was a matter of U .S. law.
Un hap p il y, the s ame c ou l d not b e s aid f or Canad a where the " p owers that b e" s eemed to
make u p the ru l es as th ey went al ong, in the ab s enc e of s p ec if ic l aws to d eal with the is su e.
On May 28 , 198 6, DO E "ind efinitely p os tp on ed " s ite s el ec tion f or high-l ev el rad ioac tiv e
was te d is p osal in Minnes ota and in the other six "2 nd rou nd " c rys tal l ine roc k States .
T he agenc y attemp ted to s av e f ac e b y exp l aining that its d ec is ion was b as ed on new d ata
whic h s u gges ted th at nu c l ear was te was not b eing generated at th e rate an tic ip ated when
th e p rogram started . T heir reas oning was that a s ec on d rep os itory for the 1 990s wou ld n ot
b e req u ired af ter al l. It p rob ab l y wou l d not b e need ed u ntil arou nd the year 2 020.
No mention was mad e of th e s trong p u b l ic grou n d s wel l of op p os ition .
F ew ob s erv ers c omp letel y ac c ep ted DO E 's exp l anation f or th e p os tp onement. Mos t p eop l e
b el iev ed that DO E had tes ted the waters and fou nd them too hot. T he reac tion in
Min nes ota h ad b een rep lic ated in the oth er s ix s tates s el ec ted b y DO E . T he c omb in ed
ou tc ry of U .S. and Can ad ian of f ic ial s an d c itizen an d en v iron men tal grou p s , was s o great
th at DO E was forc ed to p u l l b ac k.
F or the time b eing, the Red R iv er Val l ey c ontrov ers y had s u b s id ed . Both Minnes ota an d
W is c ons in , f in d in g thems el v es withou t F ed eral fu nd ing, were f orc ed to c u t b ac k on th eir
res ou rc es . Howev er, b oth s tates main tained a watc hd og op eration. T he c onc ern was th at
DO E c ou ld , for a v ariety of reas ons , reins tate the c rys tal line roc k rep os itory p rogram at any
time.
T his c onc ern was c learl y s tated b y James Kl ein hans , E xec u tiv e Direc tor of the W is c on s in
Rad ioac tiv e W as te Rev iew Board . He was rep orted as s tatin g, in the Milwau kee Jou rnal of
Au gu s t 29, 1986 , that the f ac t that the DO E -AE CL agreemen t was s ign ed two mon th s
b ef ore the U .S. c ry stal line roc k p rogram was temp orarily s u s p en d ed ,
" . . . was no c oin c id enc e . . . ( and that) . . . th e E nergy Dep artment, rath er than
p u s hin g ah ead with an inc reas ingl y u np op u l ar s earc h for a gran ite site in the US ,
c hose to av oid p u b l ic c ritic is m b y temp orarily s u s p end in g the s earc h . An d th en
the E nergy Dep artment mov ed its res earc h north. . . I'd s ay the DOE h as taken
its granite p rogram u nd ergrou nd ou t of p u b l ic v iew. "
T he DO E - AE CL E as tern Manitob a al l ian c e was u n aff ec ted b y the p os tp onement

d ec ision. U. S. res earc h in Canad ian c rys tal l ine roc k c ontin u ed . O b v iou sl y, DO E was not
giv ing u p c omp l etely on the id ea of u s in g s u c h roc k as a p os s ib l e med iu m f or a n u c lear
was te d u mp . Minnes ota and W is c ons in c ontin u ed to monitor ev en ts in eas tern Manitob a.
Du ring the Red Riv er c ontrov ers y, CCM ac q u ired more p u b l ic s u p p ort and c ertainl y
gain ed more notoriety than it ev er had b efore. Contac ts inc reas ed with ou r network of
all ies throu ghou t the U nited States an d Canad a, and ev en in other p arts of th e world .
Howev er, now th at the th reat of a Red R iv er nu c l ear was te d u mp h ad b een red u c ed , the
med ia c ov erage of the is s u e d iminis hed d ramatic al ly . In s ome p erv ers e way, I real ly miss ed
th e s p otl ight that th e DO E had p u t on th e is s u e in Minnes ota and W is c ons in. W h at el s e
c ou l d p os s ib ly keep nu c l ear was te u p p ermost in the min d s of the p u b l ic ? No sooner was
th e immed iate th reat remov ed , than it was b ac k to b u s in es s as u s u al .
I know we d id th e right thing to op p os e the Minnes ota s ites with s u c h s trength. Bu t d id we

d o th e p olitic al l y as tu te th ing? Prob ab ly not! Had the DO E real ly ac hiev ed a f oothold in
Min nes ota, the is s u e wou ld hav e maintained a high p rof il e, and CCM c ou l d hav e u s ed the
s itu ation as l ev erage f or its p os ition on AE CL's Lac d u Bonnet p rojec t.
CCM c ou ld h av e c on tinu ed to exp l oit the inc ons is tenc y of Canad ian Gov ernment of f ic ial s
s tau nc hl y d efen d ing the work of AE CL, whil e s imu ltaneou s ly c ond emn ing the U. S.
Dep artment of E n ergy 's ef f orts. Af ter al l, b oth grou p s , Canad ian and Americ an , were d oing
p retty mu c h the s ame th in g.
T hey were b oth engaging in res earc h to d etermine if the gran ite roc k was a s u itab le
med iu m f or c on tainment of the nu c l ear was te. And , to ad d to that, was the fac t th at DO E
was working with A E CL in Canad a to d o what it was u nab l e to d o in the U .S .
If the Gov ernment of Canad a, whic h had mad e a major d ip l omatic c au s e c èl éb re ou t of the
DO E p roc es s , c on s id ered that the p rop osed DO E p roj ec t was u ns af e and u ns u itab l e in
Canad ian waters hed s s ou th of the b ord er, then why was it all s u c h great s tu ff within ou r
own b ord ers ?
Bu t, we d id what we d id , and the c ontrov ers y in th e northern s tates d wind led away.
In f ac t, CCM's rol e in th e c on trov ers y ac tu all y gain -ed s ome p ol itic al rec ognition on b oth
s id es of the b ord er. In his A p ril 25, 1986 l etter to CCM's A nne W ies er, Manitob a
E nv ironment Min is ter, Gerard Lec u yer wrote
" . . . I wou l d l ike to c onv ey to you r grou p my s inc ere ap p rec iation f or you r ac tiv e
inv ol v ement in hel p ing to c onv ey Man itob a's p u b l ic op inion again s t nu c l ear
was te d is p os al s ites in the R ed R iv er V all ey to the U nited States Dep artment of
E nergy at rec en t p u b lic hearin gs and meetin gs in Min nes ota."
Un hap p il y, this rare b it of p rais e f rom a Manitob a p u b l ic of f ic ial was ac c omp an ied b y
Lec u yer's rational e for his gov ern men t's ap p rov al of more Crown l and l eas es , and a lic enc e
for AE CL's regional h yd rol ogy s tu d y in eas tern Manitob a; an es c al ation of th e p roj ec t to
whic h CCM had s tron gly ob j ec ted .
I was genu inel y tou c hed b y a p ers onal l etter of thanks to me f rom Minnes ota Gov ernor
Ru d y Perp ic h ( Ju l y 1 4, 19 86) , f or my work on the is s u e; a than ks that rightl y extend s to
eac h and ev ery on e of all th e c on c ern ed c itizens of Manitob a for their d ed ic ated and
s u c c es s fu l ef forts .
Bu t ou r real work was ju s t b eginning. W e may hav e b een p art of an ap p arent v ic tory in
Min nes ota, b u t the E as tern Manitob a s itu ation was s til l es c alating. A nd we had
u nd ertaken a c ommitmen t to c ontinu e to ed u c ate ou rs elv es and the p u b l ic ab ou t the

p rob l ems as s oc iated with nu c l ear was te.
T he is su es were c omp l ex an d v aried . T hey inc l u d ed b as ic c on c ern s ov er the v ery

c red ib il ity of the nu c lear estab l is hment, and es p ec iall y AE CL, to c arry ou t s u c h a p rogram,
as well as a whole hos t of s oc ial, ec onomic , and moral q u es tion s s u rrou nd in g the entire
is s u e of n u c l ear was te man agemen t.
A major op p ortu nity to ad d res s th es e and other q u es tions aros e wh en CCM l earned of the
nu c l ear ind u stry's p l ans to hol d its s ec ond intern ational c onf eren c e in W innip eg in
Sep temb er, 198 6.
My th ou ghts went b ac k to Sep temb er 13, 1 982, when the ind u s try h eld its f irs t
in ternational c on ferenc e in W innip eg. I rec al l ed h ow we were c au ght c omp l etel y of f-gu ard ,
learning ab ou t the c onf eren c e on ly on the d ay it op ened . T he b es t we c ou l d d o th en was to
engage in a few med ia in terv iews and a has til y-arranged s mall d emons tration at the
W innip eg Con v ention Centre.
I v owed to mys el f that things wou ld b e d if ferent th is time. I u rged my CCM c oll eagu es to
c ons id er s ome kin d of a "c ou nter-c onf erenc e" to b e hel d arou nd the same time as the
in d u s try c on ferenc e.
T he id ea c au ght h old . A c itizens ' c on ferenc e of s ome kind wou ld b ec ome a real ity.
Bu t th e b u s rid e to W arren, M inn es ota, p rov ed s ometh ing el s e to CCM. F oru ms ,

news p ap er artic l es , l ob b ying, sp eec hes , d eb ates , l iteratu re, etc . , were all need ed , b u t they ,
in thems elv es, were not en ou gh. T he b u s rid e was, in its way, d ramatic . It c ontained
elements of hu man interest wh ic h were mis s ing from th e more trad ition al s trategies.
T V c ameras an d news p ap er p h otograp hers had f oc u s ed on the b u s , an d the p eop le getting

of f and on in th e s wirl ing s nows torm. T his " news worthy" ac tion s p arked c ons id erab le
p u b l ic interes t.
W e need ed more of this " p ( u b l ic ) r( elations ) " ap p roac h to get p u b l ic atten tion. On c e the
p u b l ic was aware of th e is s u e, we f el t we c ou ld get ou r p osition ac ros s to them.
Bu t none of u s real ized at the time that we might j u s t get more attention than we had
antic ip ated .
E YE S ON W INNIPE G
W e waited on the Canad ian sid e of the b ord er at E mers on, Manitob a. T h e tru c k was late,
s o we p as sed the time c hatting with ou r f riend s from Min nes ota as wel l as with the
rep orters and T V c amera c rews .
T hen s omeone s p otted it. T he old on e ton p ic ku p tru c k had ju s t p as s ed the U . S. Cu s toms

p oint, and was s l owing d own f or th e Canad ian Cu stoms ins p ec tion.
As th e " s hip ment" had b een c l eared in ad v anc e with the hel p of a friend l y Canad ian
F ed eral p olitic ian, there was no p rob l em f or the d riv er at the b ord er c ros sing.
T he c argo was rather u nu s u al. S ittin g in the tru c k-b ed , tied with rop es , were b l ac k an d
yell ow b arrel s l ab el ed "R ADIO ACT IVE " and marked with th e f amil iar rad ioac tiv e s ymb ol .
In f ac t, the b arrel s were f ill ed with p l ain, ord in ary tap water.
Al l arou nd the rath er d il ap id ated tru c k, l arge s igns p roc laimed , " SIMU LA T IO N. "
Up on c learing Canad ian Cu s toms , the d riv er, CCM stal wart, Dav e T ayl or, with his f ac e
p ainted s tark white, wearing a white l ab tec h nic ian' s s u it, b rou gh t the tru c k to a hal t j u s t
b eyond the c hec kp oin t s tation. On that b eau tif u l earl y F al l Su n d ay, Sep temb er 7, 1 986,
CCM memb ers , al ong with M inn es ota c itizen ac tiv is ts enac ted a moc k rad ioac tiv e was te
"s p il l, " at the international b ord er.
Imp romp tu s treet th eatre b egan. Dav e walked arou n d the tru c k and noted alou d , " Hmmm,
one of thes e b arrel s is leaking. " ( O f c ou rs e, it was n' t u ntil he hammered a nail throu gh the
d ru m to b egin th e l eak!)
Other wh ite-su ited " tec h nic ians " th en ap p eared and b egan ins p ec tin g the c argo.
Mic rop hones rec ord ed the animated d is c u s s ions ab ou t th e l eaking b arrel . T V c ameras s hot
footage of some c hild ren wip in g u p the " s p il l " with f ac ial tis s u es ( !) , an d rep orters b u s il y
in terv iewed any one who wou l d tal k to them.
Someone s tu c k a p iec e of c hewin g gu m on the leak, th u s s temming the fl ow of th e

"rad ioac tiv e was te. " W hen the med ia p eop l e were finis hed , the Minnes otans head ed b ac k
home, and the tru c k, ac c omp anied b y a s mal l motorc ad e of CCM c ars b egan its jou rney
north toward W in nip eg.
E arlier that d ay, the tru c k had worked its way f rom its s tarting p oint at Grand F orks , North
Dakota, th rou gh th e s mal l f arming c ommu n ities in Min nes ota, al ong th e R ed Riv er. T h e
trip had b een u nev entfu l. A few p eop l e h ad as ked s ome q u es tions an d taken s ome of the
hand ou ts.
Mid afternoon f ou n d u s al l in th e town of Morris . Parked in f ront of the City Hall for an
hou r, we h and ed ou t literatu re, and c hatted with a few p eop l e who hap p ened b y. By now,
s ev eral more " rad ioac tiv e leaks " were s l owly d rip p ing from th e b arrel s.
T he Morris l u nc h b reak gav e me time to ref lec t on how this s trange tru c k j ou rney was
c onc eiv ed . It was on an other b eau tif u l Su nd ay morning, j u s t a f ew months earl ier, in Ju ne,
th at CCM and rep res entativ es of v ariou s M inn es ota c itizens ' grou p s met at th e b ord er
town of E mers on to p ic nic and to d isc u s s mu tu al c on c ern s .
T he R ed R iv er nu c lear site c ontrov ers y was s til l ragin g when the p ic n ic was organized . A nd
ev en th ou gh DOE h ad annou n c ed its ind efinite p ostp onement on May 28 , 198 6, s ome of
th e Minn esotan s c ontinu ed to regis ter c onc ern ov er th e is s u e and were more than hap p y to
meet with u s .

W hat c ou l d we d o to d ramatize the is s u e? It was Donov an T immers who b rains tormed th e

id ea of th e moc k rad ioac tiv e tru c k tou r. E nthu s ias m mou nted as we linked the tru c k id ea
with the u p c oming Sep temb er nu c l ear waste c onf erenc es .
W e d ec id ed to hav e the tru c k at th e s ite of th e n u c lear in d u s try c on ferenc e when it

op ened on Mon d ay Sep temb er 8 , 198 6, at the W inn ip eg Conv ention Centre.
And , s in c e we wou l d hav e the u s e of a tru c k, why not u s e the op p ortu nity to d o an
ed u c ational d riv e th rou gh some of the c ommu nities alon g the Red R iv er v al ley?
Now, that p l an was in motion , and here we were at Morris , read y f or the l as t l eg of th e
jou rn ey.
As ou r s mal l c av al c ad e d rov e al ong Pemb ina Highway, en tering th e s ou th s id e of

W innip eg, b oth p ed es trian and motor traf f ic inc reas ed . Peop le s top p ed to s tare at the
tru c k while we waited for traf f ic l igh ts to c h ange. It was interes ting to watc h reac tions as we
foll owed the tru c k in ou r own c ar; how man y s miled and wav ed at Dav e T ayl or, as he
head ed into the d owntown area. A t on e red l ight, we saw two W innip eg p ol ic e in an
ad j ac ent c ar, gl anc e c as u all y at the tru c k, take it al l in, an d grin in amu s ement.
Dav e d ec id ed to d riv e the tru c k arou n d d own town W innip eg and then p u t it in a garage
ov ernight where it wou l d b e read y f or th e earl y Mond ay morn in g rid e to the Conv ention
Centre. T he CCM c on tingen t d is p ers ed , and Dav e d rov e away toward the garage.
Bu t, h e was hot and tired and d ec id ed to make a q u ic k s top at home on Ju b il ee Av enu e,

lon g en ou gh to take a s h ower and c hange his c l othes . He p arked the tru c k in f ront of his
hou s e and wen t in.
A n d th e n . . .
Al l hel l b roke l oos e!
Siren s wail ed , b rakes s c reec hed , whis tl es b lew. Dav e gazed inc red u lou sl y at the s c ene in
fron t of h is hou s e. E mergen c y v ehic l es were arriv in g in d rov es . A mb u lan c es , f ire engin es ,
p ol ic e, off ic ial c ars of al l s orts h ad c onv erged on th e ol d one ton p ic ku p tru c k, with its
leaking b arrels .
As emergenc y p ers onn el s u rrou nd ed an d ins p ec ted the tru c k, p ol ic e d irec ted traf fic arou nd
th e b ottl enec k that had b een c reated . Interes tingl y enou gh , the traf f ic was d irec ted righ t
ov er( !) th e " rad ioac tiv e" liq u id , whic h s eemed to s o c onc ern them, an d , whic h was d rip p ing
onto th e s treet.
Dav e engaged in animated d is c u s s ions with s ome of the off ic ial s who had gathered at the
tru c k, exp l ain ing to th em that the wh ole thing was a s imu lation, j u s t as ind ic ated b y the
s igns al l arou nd the tru c k.
W hen they f in all y c almed d own, Dav e agreed to p u t th e b arrel s d own f lat to hid e the
rad ioac tiv e sy mb ols , an d th en d rov e the tru c k to its ov ernight res tin g p l ac e. W ord of the
in c id en t s p read q u ic kl y to amazed , b u t amu s ed CCM memb ers .

My own reac tion was al s o one of inc red u l ity. W hy wou ld the emergen c y res p on se team
s u d d en ly ap p ear wh en an d where it d id ? T he tru c k h ad b een on th e highway for many
hou rs , had s top p ed in c ommu nities in two s tates , in ru ral Manitob a, with ou t inc id ent and
had b een s lowl y d riv en arou nd areas of W inn ip eg, b ef ore b eing p arked .
It was c learl y marked with " SIMULAT IO N" s igns and no one, n ot ev en the p ol ic e wh o
s top p ed b es id e it at red l ights s howed any alarm, as Dav e d rov e arou nd d owntown
W innip eg. S o what h ap p ened ?
T he exc el len t telev is ion c ov erage of ou r moc k s p ill at the b ord er q u ic kly took s ec ond p l ac e
to the in c id ent on Ju b il ee A v enu e that Su nd ay ev en ing. Virtu all y ev ery T V and rad io
s tation was rep orting the ev ent. Some u nc onf irmed rep orts s tated th at an of f-d u ty f ireman
had s p otted the tru c k on Pemb in a Highway and h ad p honed in th e al arm.
W e were all a b it s haken at the ov erb lown reac tion, b u t c arried on with ou r p l an to p ark
th e tru c k near the entranc e of the W innip eg Con v ention Centre the next morning.
Donov an T immers , Phyl an d I s tood b y th e tru c k th at morning, p as s ing ou t l eaf lets , and
tal king to the med ia. It was then we learned that th e Prov inc ial Gov ernment was su gges ting
th at CCM might hav e to f oot th e b il l f or the c os t of b rin gin g ou t the emergenc y res p ons e
team.
Sp ec u l ation ab ou nd ed ov er the origin of the anony mou s c al ler wh o tu rned in th e al arm.

News p eop l e h ad d if f erent v ers ions of this p oint. O ne p hotograp h er s aid that he knew f or
c ertain th at the alarm h ad b een tu rn ed in b y a Prov inc ial E nv ironment Dep artment
of fic ial.
W e nev er d id f ind ou t who tu rned in that alarm. Howev er, we were v ery gratefu l to the
med ia, b ec au s e th e inc id ent c reated a p u b l ic awaren es s of th e nu c lear was te is s u e th at
c ou l d onl y b e termed " s p ec tac u l ar!" In a p erv ers e way, that an onymou s c all er d id CCM,
and the gen eral p op u lation an inv al u ab le s erv ic e.
Not that the p u b lic ity its el f was f av ou rab le. Q u ite the c ontrary. W e took ou r lu mp s ,
es p ec ial l y f rom the ed itorial is ts . O n Sep temb er 9 , 198 6, the W innip eg Su n ins isted that
we s hou l d s how ou r wil lingnes s to b e res p ons ib l e f or th e p rob lems we c reated b y
". . . p ay ing b ac k the taxp ayer f or the money, $239 , that was s p en t c hec king ou t th e
leaking b arrel. "
T he thru s t of the ed itorial was a s tern lec tu re to u s on the mean ing of "res p on sib il ity. "
On S ep temb er 11, 1986 , T h e W in nip eg F ree Pres s ed itorial u s ed th e op p ortu nity on c e

again to p oint to s ome of th e p olitic al ass u ran c es that n u c l ear was te wou ld l ikel y b e b u ried
in O ntario, not M anitob a. It s tated that
" Nothin g, of c ou rse, c an c onv inc e th os e who rev el in p olitic al p aranoia that
gov ernments are not in v ol v ed in s ome inv is ib le c ons p irac y to d o at some time in
the f u tu re what they hav e al l s aid l ou d ly and c l earl y they d o not intend to d o. "
E arlier in the same ed itorial the F ree Pres s noted that a f irm d ec is ion on what to d o with

nu c l ear was te wou ld n ot hav e to b e mad e f or 4 0 y ears . ( T he u nd erl ying as s u mp tion b eing
th at the d ec ision wou l d then b e mad e. )
I s ometimes wond ered if the F ree Pres s u s ed d iff erent ed itorialis ts to write s egmen ts of the
s ame ed itorial , b u t f orb id them to c hec k with one another. How el s e c ou ld on e exp l ain th e
freq u ent c on trad ic tions in the n ews p ap er' s ed itorial s ?
T he ed itorial 's notion that CCM was p aranoid an d ad v anc ing a " c ons p irac y" theory was, I
s u p p os e, th e news p ap er's way of trying to d is c red it u s yet again in the eyes of the p u b l ic
whil e c on tinu ing to exp ress its loyalty and s u p p ort f or the Canad ian nu c lear es tab lis hment.
T hat the n ews p ap er c ons is ten tl y c hos e to ignore th e f ac t that Ottawa had nev er c omp l etel y
ru led ou t Manitob a as a p otential nu c l ear d u mp s ite was , u nf ortu natel y, c ons is tent with its
u s u al p ro-nu c lear stanc e. CCM's p os ition on p ol itic al as s u ranc es had always b een th at in
th e ab sen c e of legis l ation, th e p u b l ic s hou l d not ac c ep t as s u ranc es and p romis es from
c u rren t el ec ted of f ic ial s , wh en th e c ritic al d ec is ions wou l d b e mad e in the f u tu re, b y
d iff erent p olitic ians , u nd er c irc u ms tanc es whic h no one c ou l d f ores ee.
T he tru c k ep is od e c on c lu d ed with a " s lap on the wris t" letter ( Sep temb er 11, 1 986) f rom
Prov inc ial E nv ironment Min is ter Gerard Lec u yer. He was p artic u larl y u p s et at ou r p u b l ic
s tatements c on c ern in g the manner in wh ic h the emergen c y res p on se team was d ep loy ed .
I had s tated to s ome of the med ia th at had there b een a real rel eas e of high-l ev el
rad ioac tiv e was te, rath er than the tap water, memb ers of the emergenc y res p ons e team
c ou l d hav e b een in ju red or kil l ed , as th ey were not garb ed in an y rad iation p rotec tion
c l ot h i n g .
In on e interv iew, I su gges ted that th e Prov inc ial Gov ernment s h ou l d b e gratef u l to u s f or
p ointin g this ou t, and ou ght to imp rov e its emergenc y res p ons e p rogram b y l earn ing f rom
th e exp erienc e.
Dav e was q u oted el s ewh ere as su gges ting that the resp ons e was an ov er-reac tion to what
was a rather ob v iou s p iec e of s treet theater.
In h is letter, the M inis ter c has tised u s f or ou r " c av al ier attitu d e" in makin g s u c h s tatemen ts
and wen t on to p rais e th e " ef fec tiv enes s " ( !) of the resp ons e team. He s aid he wou ld n ot b il l
u s f or th e c os ts of the res p ons e, b u t warned u s that we wou l d b e treated d if ferentl y if a
s imilar inc id en t s hou l d oc c u r in the f u tu re.
As Phyl and I trav eled E ast on a F all hol id ay , meeting many d if f erent p eop l e in On tario,
Qu éb ec , the Maritimes and s ome New E ngl and s tates , there was one th ing that ev eryone
alon g the way kn ew ab ou t ou r p rov in c e: CCM's " rad ioac tiv e p ic ku p tru c k!"
Ju s t how wel l eq u ip p ed were Man itob a emergen c y res p on s e c rews to ef f ec tiv el y hand le a
highway ac c id ent inv olv ing rad ioac tiv e materials ?
Ab ou t eighteen months af ter the in c id ent, a F eb 21, 1 988 W innip eg F ree Press news item
s tated that
" O ff ic ial s at the W hitesh ell Nu c lear Res earc h E s tab lis hment hav e d ev el op ed a

train ing p rogram f or emergenc y res p ons e workers in Manitob a. T he artic l e noted
that th ere were ab ou t 500 ,00 0 sh ip men ts of rad ioac tiv e material s in Canad a in
19 87, " . . . eac h one p res entin g the p otential f or s ome s ort of emergenc y. " ( ital ic s
s u p p li ed )
Al thou gh the tru c k ev en t may h av e h ad nothing to d o with th e introd u c tion of the training
c ou rs e, it was c l ear that I had not b een ju st wh is tling in the d ark ab ou t the n eed for
training res p ons e c rews and the imp ortanc e of rad iation p rotec tion for thems elv es , the
p u b l ic , and the env ironment, in the ev ent of a real rad ioac tiv e s p il l .
W e s tood b es id e ou r moc k-n u c l ear was te tru c k ac ros s f rom the entranc e to the W innip eg
Con v ention Centre the f oll owing morning, Mon d ay, Sep temb er 8, 1 986, and wav ed as
d riv ers honked their h orn s , and c hatted with p ass ers b y, as "the nu kes " b egan their
c onf erenc e.
F or the p u b lic , the tru c k inc id ent ov ers had owed th e p roc eed in gs of th e nu c lear in d u s try 's
s ec ond in ternational c onf eren c e on rad ioac tiv e waste management, s p ons ored b y the
Canad ian Nu c l ear Soc iety and c o-sp ons ored b y th e A meric an Nu c lear Soc iety.
CCM h ad rec eiv ed notic e of the c onf eren c e in a Dec emb er 1 9, 19 85 annou nc ement f rom
AE CL, whic h in c lu d ed a c op y of a c all f or p ap ers . W e ap p roac h ed Patric k F al c oner, a
u niv ers ity grad u ate s tu d en t in p u b l ic af f airs , and a f riend of CCM, with the s u ggestion
th at he p res ent a p ap er f or the s es sion on p u b lic attitu d es . He read il y agreed , wrote th e
p ap er, s u b mitted it, and it was ac c ep ted , althou gh, as I rec all , he had to "water it d own" to
gain that ac c ep tanc e.
F al c oner was s c hed u l ed to d el iv er his p ap er at 10: 15 on that Mon d ay, Sep temb er 8, 1 986.
A CCM-er had p rev iou s l y q u eried A E CL as to whether or not we c ou l d atten d the p u b lic
aff airs s es s ion withou t c harge. S he was tol d that s he, or any one els e, wou l d hav e to p ay f u l l
c onf erenc e regis tration fee ( a " mere" $3 25!) .
T hat s eemed l ike a l ot of mon ey f or one p ers on to attend one s ess ion at an y c on ferenc e.
Six of u s d ec id ed we wou l d s imp l y wal k in , s it d own, and try to l is ten to the p res entations .
T he room was p ac ked , n ot onl y with p artic ip ants b u t with T V c ameras and rep orters lined
u p again s t the b ac k wal l of the room.
T he s u b j ec t of " p u b l ic attitu d es " ob v iou s l y ap p eal ed to the med ia as wel l as to CCM. A nd

th e p res enc e of th e med ia d efinitely ap p ealed to u s CCM-ers , ( as n o on e c h os e to c hal lenge
ou r attend an c e in their p res enc e) .
In terp retation an d meaning of the res u l ts of A E CL's p u b lic op in ion p oll s d ominated the
liv el y d is c u s s ion. Howev er, it was c l ear that A E CL was los ing grou nd in its p u b l ic relations
c amp aign . Ac c ord ing to a Glob e an d M ail artic le of Sep t 9, 1986 ,
A E CL's p ol l f ou nd 81 p er c ent of thos e p ol led were op p os ed to hav ing a d is p os al

s ite in th eir c ommu n ity. T he f igu re had b een onl y 52 p erc ent in 19 83.
Signif ic antly , the p oll was c ond u c ted earl y A p ril , 1 986, p rior to the Ch ern ob yl n u c lear
reac tor ac c id ent in th e S ov iet U nion. O f great interes t to me was the f ac t th at s ev enty
p erc ent of thos e p oll ed wan ted A E CL to s tu d y al ternativ es to its p l an f or b u rying th e was te
in the granite of the Can ad ian s h iel d -- ev en if it c os t more and took l onger.
( I hav e al ways b el iev ed that sc ienc e c an and wil l d ev el op tec hnol ogy to rend er the was te
les s rad ioac tiv e and ev en in ert. )
T he Glob e an d M ail artic le p ointed ou t that the inc reas ed op p osition to AE CL's p rogram
was c oming f rom p eop le wh o, in p rev iou s p oll s , had exp res s ed in d if f erenc e, or who wanted
more inf ormation.
F or eight years, AE CL had s p ent mil lions of d oll ars trying to p ers u ad e the p u b l ic to
emb rac e its nu c l ear was te p rogram. Du rin g that time, inf ormed and res p on sib l e c ritic s had
of ten q u es tioned A E CL's emp has is on a p u b l ic rel ations ap p roac h to th e p rob lem of
nu c l ear was te.
On e c an on ly c onc l u d e that A E CL's p u b lic rel ation s of f ic es , d es p ite the ob v iou s , u s ed the
res u lts of the p ol ls to ration alize th e need f or more and more of th e s ame p r ap p roac h. In
light of the d ata of growing negativ e p u b lic attitu d es from th e p oll s , the notion of s eriou s l y
re-examin in g the b as ic d irec tion of th e p rogram, was ob v iou s ly not a c on s id eration at
Pinawa, (q u ite in keep in g, I might ad d , with AE CL' s c u ltu re of organization al rigid ity and
in fl exib il ity ).
T he ind u s try c onf eren c e en d ed on Sep temb er 1 1, 19 86, while the grou p s inv olv ed in
p l anning th e c itizens ' c on ferenc e were p u tting the f in al tou c hes to their l ogis tic s an d
arrangements .
Sc hed u led f or S ep temb er 12 -14 , 198 6, the c itizens ' c onf erenc e was ap p rop riatel y b ill ed as
"Chal len ges to Nu c lear W as te Man agemen t, An Internation al Con ferenc e on E merging
Pu b l ic Is s u es . " It b ec ame known as the "Nu c l ear W as te Is s u es Conf erenc e. "
W hen CCM f irs t s tarted d is c u s s ing th e id ea of a " c ou nter-c on ferenc e, " many of u s as s u med
it wou ld take th e f orm of a p u b l ic meeting with a f ew s p eakers , who wou ld c on c entrate on
th e n on-tec h nic al as p ec ts of th e nu c lear was te is s u e. W ith ou r one th ou s and d ol l ar b an k
ac c ou nt, mu c h v ol u n teer work and good wil l wou l d b e req u ired , ev en f or th at ef f ort.
Patric k F al c oner s u ggested that we enlarge the s c op e of ou r ev ent, main ly b y ac q u irin g a

b road er b as e of s u p p ort. CCM ad op ted the id ea an d b egan searc hing f or s p on s ors and
res ou rc es .
I v oic ed my c on c ern that th e b asic id ea of a " c itizens ' c ou nter-c onf erenc e" might b e
watered d own as more organization s c ame into the p ic tu re. T he las t th ing I wanted to s ee
was a typ ic al ly tec hnic al , d ata-f ill ed c onf erenc e, es p ec ial ly one whic h wou l d giv e p l atform
time to the nu c l ear es tab l is hment. T hey had al l the p latf orms they need ed , man y of wh ic h
th e p u b l ic hel p ed f in anc e.
My c onc erns were u nf ou nd ed b ec au s e the Can ad ian an d U. S. Gov ernment organizations

all fou nd reasons to av oid ac tiv e p artic ip ation . Al thou gh they were inv ited to s u b mit
p ap ers , non e of them c hose to d o so.
Howev er, A tomic E nergy Con trol Board (A E CB) , A tomic E nergy of Canad a, Ltd .( A E CL) ,
E nv ironment Canad a, and E n ergy, Min es and R es ou rc es Canad a, all s en t rep res entativ e
ob s erv ers.
T he A E CL d elegation inc l u d ed two of their p u b lic rel ation s p eop le. T hey hel p ed get th e
c onf erenc e off to a rou s in g s tart b y c reating an imp romp tu d eb ate with th e p anelis ts d u ring
th e F rid ay ev ening, Sep temb er 12 , 198 6, q u estion p eriod . A fter a s hort, b u t nas ty-ton ed
s p arring matc h ov er s u c h p rof ou nd matters as who in v ited ( or n eglec ted to inv ite) whom to
p artic ip ate in eac h others' c onf eren c es, th e real b u s in ess at h and got u n d erway.
T he c onf erenc e s teering c ommittee was d rawn f rom s ome of the W innip eg-b as ed
s p ons oring organ izations . T he f inal l ist of en d ors ing b od ies ( mainl y env ironmental and
c hu rc h grou p s ) and in d iv id u als was q u ite imp res siv e. M any of the s ame grou p s p rov id ed
fu nd ing and other kind s of ass is tanc e. T he s teerin g c ommittee had reall y d one its job . It
had as s emb led an amazin g c ol l ec tion of s p eakers and res ou rc e p eop l e f or th e ev en t. T hey
ran ged from Canad ian, U. S. and E u rop ean c itizen ac tiv is ts , to u niv ersity p rofes s ors in
eth ic al , tec hnic al an d s oc ial f ield s. T al ks an d works hop s ref lec ted this wid e range of
in teres ts .
T he p roc eed ings were ad mirab l y rep orted in a b ook ed ited b y CCM's A nne W ies er, titled
"Chal len ges to Nu c lear W as te, Proc eed ings of the Nu c lear W as te Is s u es Con ferenc e,
Sep temb er 1 2-1 4, 19 86. " It is mu s t read in g f or an yone in teres ted in the s u b j ec t of nu c l ear
was te. A nd th at s hou ld b e ev eryone wh o h as s ome interes t in th e f u tu re of Pl anet E arth!
Con ferenc es hav e d iff erent high lights f or d iff erent p eop l e. F or me, it was b eing in the
c omp any of intel ligent, f riend ly and s ens itiv e p eop le wh o s hared many of my own
c onc erns . If I were to p ic k one high p oin t, it was th e imp romp tu meeting of many of the
c onf erees Su nd ay ev ening, S ep temb er 14, 1986 .
Al thou gh ev eryone was tired , exc ell ent networking took p lac e. A nd the grou p d ec id ed th at
a s ec on d , f ol low-u p "International Citizens ' Con ferenc e on Nu c l ear W as te" s hou ld b e hel d
a f ew years henc e.
Du ring the c onf eren c e, another u ns c hed u led ev en t oc c u rred . A letter to th e Canad ian
F ed eral E nergy Minis ter, Marc el Mas s e, was d raf ted , along with a news releas e and a lis t of
organizations and notab l e ind iv id u al s su p p ortin g an d /or atten d ing the c onf erenc e.
T he Sep temb er 16, 1 986 l etter to the Min is ter req u ested that
" . . . hearin gs b e hel d immed iatel y to as c ertain the wil l of the p u b lic with regard
to th e d is p os al of rad ioac tiv e was te from all asp ec ts of the nu c lear fu el c hain.
T hes e h earings mu s t b e ind ep en d ently ad minis tered and mu s t p rov id e s u f f ic ient
f u nd in g to p u b l ic grou p s s o as to enc ou rage the p res en tation of the v iews of al l
c itizens . "
T he Minis ter's Dec emb er 3, 1986 res p ons e was a c las s ic examp l e of p ol itic al b af f l egab . He
twisted the mean in g and intent of the c onf erenc e l etter to h im c omp letel y when he wrote
" I b eliev e th at the res ol u tion is s u p p ortiv e of the gov ern men t's ap p roac h to the
q u es tion of p ermanen t d is p os al of nu c l ear was te f u el ."

( And , night is d ay, u p is d own, hot is c old , and p igs c an f l y!)
Du ring p riv ate d is c u s s ions with s ev eral of th e gu es ts from afar, they exp res s ed th eir
p ers onal op inions to me ab ou t the l oc al s itu ation . W ith a f res h, ou ts id e, and gl ob al
p ers p ec tiv e one of them s tated rather s u c c inc tl y,
" If you gu y s in Manitob a d on't get you r ac t together v ery s oon you are, ind eed ,
going to ' Get T he Sh aft'. "
At th at p oint in time, it l ooked as if they were right. T he c onf eren c e itsel f got v ery littl e
news c ov erage. A E CL an d DO E were marc h in g ahead with the exp ans ion of their ac tiv ities
in Man itob a, and th e Prov inc ial Gov ernment was still tal king a good game, b u t d oin g l ittl e
to b ac k u p its rhetoric .
I c ertainl y wou ld not hav e b el iev ed that we wou ld s ee a maj or b reakthrou gh in l ess than a
year's time.
NO W HE AR T HIS
W hen the Nu c lear W as te Is s u es Con ferenc e in W in nip eg en d ed , Phyl , newly-retired f rom

teac h in g, and I p ac ked u p ou r ref u rb is hed 196 0s -v intage ten t trail er, hitc h ed it u p to the
c ar, and head ed E ast. Both of u s longed to f eas t ou r eyes on eastern F al l c ol ou rs . W e s oon
d isc ov ered that we were p art of th e grou p that th e ad v ertis ing and tou ris m ind u s tries c all
"l eaf -p eep ers " or, " f oliage fol l owers , " to u s e the more d ignif ied titl e.
As we lef t th e Prairies , an d h ead ed E as t, the firs t red map le we enc ou ntered was al read y
oc c u p ied . T hat is , s ome other l eaf p eep ers had s top p ed their c ar and were taking
p hotograp hs of it. W e enc ou ntered many other trees , c ol ou rs and foliage f ol l owers on ou r
trav el s that F al l.
T he trip had s ev eral goal s ; to v is it two of ou r c h il d ren wh o l iv ed in T oronto, to rev is it one

of ou r mos t f av ou rite p l ac es , Mt. Des ert Is l and on th e Maine c oas t, ( and to eat as mu c h
Atl antic lob s ter and other s eaf ood as p os s ib le!) , and , to meet an d c onf er with s ome of th e
c itizen-ac tiv is ts in s ou th ern Q u éb ec and New E n glan d .
Ou r f irs t " b u s ines s " meetings were with s ome of the organ izers in the E as tern T own s hip s of
Qu éb ec . Peter W el d on, then v ic e-p res id en t of Memp hremagog Cons erv ation Inc . h ad b een
one of the s p eakers at th e Nu c l ear W as te Is su es Conf erenc e. He h ad sh own s l id es and
giv en the c onf erees an exc el len t ov erv iew of the nu c lear was te c on trov ers y in h is region.
Peter hos ted a lu n c h for u s at a loc al res tau rant, whic h was f ol l owed b y an in-d ep th
in terv iew with a S herb rooke Rec ord rep orter. T he s u b s eq u ent Sep temb er 26, 1986 artic l e
ref l ec ted one p oin t v ery wel l: networking, an d s h aring exp erien c es with others is a c ritic al

fac tor in d eal ing with gl ob al is s u es s u c h as nu c lear was te.
Later that ev enin g, we took p art in a grou p d is c u s s ion at Peter's home. T he l oc al

p artic ip ants rep eated ov er and ov er h ow s tu nned they were to d is c ov er th e s imil arities
b etween ou r exp erien c es with AE CL and their en c ou nters with the U. S. Dep artment of
E nergy, v is -à-v is north ern V ermont.
W e als o met with Mars ha an d Chic k Sc hwartz and s ome of their f amil y in their hill top
home n ear Stans tead , Q u éb ec , ad j ac ent to the Vermont b ord er. T h ey introd u c ed u s to
other key ac tiv is ts in the l oc al n u c l ear was te c ontrov ersy and arranged an in terv iew with a
Vermont news rep orter.
As all th ese p eop le related their s tories ab ou t th e c on trov ers y, the p rid e in their
ac c omp lis hments real ly c ame th rou gh. It was an examp l e of c ommu nity organization at its
b e s t.
Later, we s top p ed of f in s ou thern New Hamp s hire, wh ere another grou p had mou nted a
c amp aign s imil ar to th at in the Q u éb ec - V ermon t region. T here, Mol ly and Dan W att an d
th eir neighb ors h ad sp ent many hou rs of work organ izing op p osition to " th eir" p otential
nu c l ear d u mp s ite. Mol ly tol d of her horror u p on l earning th at the p otential site wou l d
hav e in c lu d ed her l ov el y l akes id e home.
Among the gath ering at the W atts ' A-frame hou s e, were Cia Is elin and Dav id Py les of the
New E ngl and Coalition on Nu c l ear Poll u tion, b oth of whom had b een at the W inn ip eg
c onf erenc e. T hey had d riv en a v an c hoc k-f u l l of ed u c ation al materials f rom New E ngl and
to W inn ip eg, s top p ing at s c hool s al ong the way to tal k to c hil d ren ab ou t the p rob l ems
as soc iated with nu c l ear energy.
On e of the main top ic s of d is c u s s ion at the W atts ' p lac e was the ongoing attemp t to hal t
c ons tru c tion of th e Seab rook n u c l ear reac tor on the smal l s trip of New Hamp s hire
c oas tl ine.
It was great to rehas h ev en ts , an d sh are id eas f or fu tu re ac tion with al l thes e p eop l e. W e

were all en gaged and s haring in th e c ommon s ens ib le end eav or to b ring an end to th e
nu c l ear mad nes s , an d to ac hiev e a n u c lear p ol lu tion-f ree world f or ou rs el v es and ou r
d es c end an ts .
Con ten ted ly s tu f fed with Maine lob ster, and ref resh ed and rev ital ized f rom ou r s igh ts eeing
and networking b ac k E as t, we entered the winter of 1 986 with renewed c on fid enc e. T he
p os t-c on ferenc e b l u es were gone and mu c h work remained to b e d one in Manitob a. A s we
took s toc k of the s itu ation, it was c lear th at CCM was gain ing more s trength.
Some of the c ottage own ers in eas tern Manitob a were b eginn in g to notic e the c hanges in
th e l and s c ap e res u l ting f rom the AE CL - DO E regional hyd rol ogy stu d y. O ne of thos e
p arc els of l eas ed Crown Land was v ery n ear the c ottage of Nettie Kes s en.
On e d ay in Sep temb er, 19 86, Nettie and her hu s b and were walking in the wood s near
th eir c ottage wh en th ey d is c ov ered a new road whic h l ed , u n known to them, to an A E CL
b ore-h ole d rill site. T hey fol l owed the road to where a p u mp was op eratin g an d s p il ling oil

in to the loc al c reek.
T hey retu rned home and immed iatel y tried to c al l s omeone on the Prov in c ial
E nv ironmental Hot-Lin e b u t, got no s atis f ac tion f rom c ontac ted gov ernment of fic ials .
E v entu al l y, Nettie and s ome of her f rien d s c on tac ted CCM. T hey related their s ad s tory at
a CCM meeting, and joined ranks with u s as v ery ac tiv e and v al u ab l e memb ers .
Nettie tol d me that when AE CL d is c ov ered her c onc ern, s he was c ontac ted and in v ited to
v is it the W h ites hel l Nu c l ear Res earc h Station . She s aid s h e d ec l ined b ec au s e the s igns
th ere p rohib ited c hil d ren and p regnan t women f rom the tou r.
"If it's not saf e enou gh f or th em, it's not saf e enou gh f or me! " was her res p ons e. Her
fru s tration and ou trage that this p roj ec t h ad b een p ermitted to oc c u r in her b eau tifu l
Manitob a c ottage c ou ntry, c on tinu ed to grow.
Med ia c ov erage of the nu c lear was te is s u e c ontin u ed to grow al s o, d u ring 198 6 an d 1987 ,
and CCM wel c omed it.
T he Canad ian Broad c as tin g Comp any ( CBC) gav e the iss u e national p rominenc e with
in -d ep th c ov erage on its " T he Jou rnal " p rogram. T h e Nov emb er 1, 19 86 ed ition of th e
T oronto Star, inc lu d ed a f eatu re artic le on " Con fronting Nu c lear W as te."
"Nu c l ear W as te: A Pres s ing Prob l em A waits A S olu tion" was the title of the f u l l p age
featu re artic l e in th e A u gu s t 16, 1 986, Gl ob e and Mail. On Dec emb er 1 0, 19 86, the
W innip eg F ree Pres s d ev oted a f u l l p age to "Nu c l ear W as te F al l ou t."
On e p artic u l ar artic l e that rais ed a f ew eyeb rows in Manitob a, was that of S an F ran c is c o
Chron ic l e s yn d ic ated nu c lear is s u es c ol u mnis t, Lewis R othlein. Ap p earing in the W innip eg
F ree Pres s on F eb ru ary 22, 1 987, u nd er the h ead l ine " N-was te Storage Battl e F oc u s es On
Manitob a," Rothl ein c onc entrated on CCM and A E CL ef f orts to sway th e p u b l ic to their
res p ec tiv e p os itions .
As s es s in g the s itu ation, R othl ein c onc l u d ed that
" T h e is s u e is hot, j u d ging b y th e area news p ap er c ov erage, b u t there's s ome

q u es tion as to how mu c h the av erage c itizen is inv olv ed . In an y c as e, neither s id e
c an c l aim great s u p p ort. "
R othlein p ointed to the relativ ely p oor p u b lic attend anc e at the Nu c lear W as te
Is s u es Conf erenc e in W inn ip eg, and the fail u re of AE CL's l arge PR b u d get to
p rod u c e an imp rov ement in p u b lic op in ion ab ou t n u c lear d u mp s .
His prediction that the "strong-willed" two sides would continue their battle was
certainly correct.
T hat the is s u e whic h AE CL had tried s o hard to keep " l oc al" was regard ed as imp ortant
enou gh to ac hiev e j ou rnal istic n otoriety th rou ghou t th e U . S. and Canad a, mu st hav e c ome
as a s u rp ris e to more th an one M anitob an!
I was p l eas ed th at s ome rec ogn ition was p aid to the f ac t th at the Manitob a n u c lear was te

is s u e was anything b u t loc al . Clearl y, A E CL was f ailing in its ef f orts to p ortray the p rojec t
as " min u s c u l e." [O riginal l y, it had rej ec ted the id ea of p u b lic h earings on the grou nd s th at
th e u nd ergrou nd res earc h l ab was s u c h a s mal l p roj ec t, th at it was l es s worthy of p u b l ic
s c ru tiny than a n ew c hip s tand on th e road s id e nearb y the s ite!]
More an d more p eop l e b egan to real ize that Man itob a was a foc al p oint f or a maj or and
growing nation al, an d international c on trov ers y. T his d id not s it wel l with man y
Manitob ans , who p referred to think of their Prov in c e as a q u iet and s tab le p l ac e and a
mec c a f or tou ris m, rather than as a lightning rod for d is sen s ion .
Sev eral c ommon th read s ran throu gh the v ariou s med ia ac c ou n ts of the nu c lear was te
c ontrov ersy . O ne was the c onf id enc e of the nu c lear estab l is hment in its u nd ergrou nd was te
is ol ation c on c ep t. An other was the c onc ern of the op p onents ov er the p os s ib il ity of
rep os itory fail u re.
Mos t of th e ac c ou nts inc l u d ed f airl y exten siv e d es c rip tions of the origin and toxic ity of
nu c l ear was te. Bu t regard l es s of how the med ia treated the s u b j ec t, at l eas t, it was now
treating it. In th is s itu ation, ev en n egativ e p u b l ic ity was v al u ab l e b ec au s e it f oc u s ed
attention on the v ery exis ten c e of th e is s u e!
CCM ad d ed to the med ia c ov erage with p eriod ic news releas es . O ne was p romp ted b y a
Jan u ary, 19 87 meeting with Prov in c ial E nv ironment Minis ter Gerard Lec u y er.
It was another stormy meeting. His s taff had b een tol d in ad v an c e that a l arge grou p
p l anned to attend , b u t Lec u yer ref u s ed to sit d own with al l of the p eop le wh o arriv ed at
his of f ic e in the Legis lativ e Bu ild in g. As he had d emons trated on c e b ef ore, h e was ad v ers e
to meetin g with l arge grou p s of d is gru ntl ed c itizens . Amon g the grou p were man y of the
c ottage owners rec ru ited b y Nettie Kes s en and her f riend s .
T he u p sh ot was an agreement that th e c rowd wou l d s tay in th e h all way, and the med ia
were to b e exc l u d ed f rom the meeting. O nl y th en was a s mall d elegation of CCM memb ers
p ermitted to meet with the M inis ter.
On e of the main is s u es d is c u s s ed at the meeting was the trans p ortation of n u c l ear was te.
CCM h ad ju s t rel eas ed to the med ia s ome v ery c l ear p h otograp hs of O ntario Hyd ro
s emi-trailers c arrying heav ily-c l ad c ontain ers of n u c lear was te alon g Highway 17 , the
On tario p art of the T ran s-Canad a, an d the main h ighway in to Manitob a, on their way to
th e W hites hel l Nu c l ear R es earc h S tation at Pinawa.
Du ring the meeting, CCM rep res entativ es mad e f ou r p oints :

#. T he p u b l ic has a right to know what and wh en rad ioac tiv e was te is in tran sit to and
into Manitob a.
#. A n ac c id en t is p oss ib l e an d th at tru c k ac c id en ts oc c u r at a rate of 2 . 5 p er mil lion
miles trav el ed . T he od d s are that in ev ery 267 trip s f rom T oronto, there wil l b e at
l eas t one ac c id ent.
#. Contain ers in Canad a hav e y et to b e tes ted , and d ata on c ontain er s af ety is b as ed
u p on U. S. tes ts in Sand ia, New M exic o, c ond u c ted in 1961 . T h os e tes ts were d on e
on c as ks of a d iff erent d es ign than the ones p resen tl y u s ed , an d d id n ot inc l u d e
s o-c all ed " c ru s h tes ts ," whic h wou ld h av e tes ted th e integrity of the c ontainers if a
tru c k ( or f reight train) roll ed right on top of them.
#. E mergenc y res p ons e teams wou ld b e l ed b y v olu nteer f ire d ep artments, none of whic h
has any training or eq u ip men t to d eal with a rad ioac tiv e s p il l of an y magnitu d e.
( Perhap s this , too, al ong with the CCM " moc k " s p ill " inc id ent led to th e
ann ou nc ement in F eb ru ary , 198 8, that A E CL was to s tart training emergen c y res p on se
workers in M anitob a.)
T he Minis ter res p ond ed to CCM c on c ern s ov er tran sp ortation b y d iv u l ging the fac t that
th ree hu nd red s ev enty-n in e ( !) s p en t f u el b u nd l es f rom O ntario generating s tations h ad
b een b rou ght in to the W hites hel l Nu c lear Res earc h Station at Pin awa. T hey were b eing
u s ed for " res earc h p u rp oses . "
As for tran s p ortation s afety, Lec u yer simp l y reiterated the v ery as s u ranc es th at A E CL
regu larl y s u p p l ies , n amel y, that a maj or ac c id ent is not onl y u nl ikel y, it is a negl igib l e
p os s ib il ity. He p l ac ed his f aith in th e integrity of the c ontainers to withs tan d ac c id en ts and
in the ab ility of AE CL and Man itob a Gov ernment emergenc y resp ons e teams to ef f ec tiv el y
c op e with an y s u c h ac c id en ts .
T he Minis ter d ec l ined CCM's req u est to is s u e p u b l ic notic e of any f u tu re n u c l ear was te
s hip men ts into the Prov inc e.
Al thou gh we s aw l ittl e p rogres s at the Prov in c ial l ev el of gov ernment, things were d efinitely
warmin g u p at th e F ed eral lev el. Du ring th e au tu mn of 1986 , the F ed eral New Democ ratic
Party ( NDP) an nou nc ed it wou l d hol d its own inq u iry into the n u c l ear f u el c hain in
Canad a.
T he inq u iry was c ond u c ted b y two NDP memb ers of Parl iament, Ian W ad d ell , then
E nergy Critic and Bill Bl aikie, then E nv iron men t Critic . T hey trav eled ac ros s Canad a,
hol d ing h earings in many major c entres , as well as near v ariou s nu c lear fac il ities .
Real is tic all y, CCM knew th at the F ed eral NDP h earings were a p ale s u b s titu te f or a
fu ll -fl ed ged Gov ernment of Can ad a op en hearin g p roc es s . T he res u lts of s u c h a p artis an
exerc is e wou l d not likel y imp res s any imp ortan t F ed eral Cab inet minis ters . Bu t, it was the
firs t time that we h ad an op p ortu nity to p u t ou r c as e b ef ore an y p u b l ic hearings in Can ad a!
On Janu ary 26 , 198 7, when th e two MPs ap p eared in W innip eg, CCM eagerl y p res ented
its b rief and rel is hed th e op p ortu nity to d isc u s s the is s u e with th em. Many of ou r
s entiments were exp res s ed in the f ol low-u p W innip eg F ree Pres s news artic l e on Janu ary
27, 1 987.
Bill Bl aikie was rep orted as say ing that M anitob ans s hou ld p ay more attention to the
nu c l ear energy d eb ate b ef ore the p rov inc e b ec omes a d u mp s ite f or nu c lear was te, and that
th ere is too mu c h s ec rec y s u rrou nd ing the nu c l ear ind u stry in Canad a.
" Manitob a is the c en tre of a gl ob al nu c lear d eb ate . . . W hether we like it or n ot

we're at the c en tre of the ac tion an d it's ab ou t time M anitob ans p aid more
attention ."
Bl aikie c all ed f or an ind ep en d ent c ommis sion to d etermine th e b es t method of d is p os ing of

nu c l ear was te, and as ked for a h alt to the b u il d in g of any more nu c lear p lan ts , c ess ation of
u raniu m minin g an d more fu nd s for al ternativ e en ergy s ou rc es .

T he s ame artic l e rep orted Ian W ad d ell as c ritic izing the F ed eral Gov ernment f or ass igning
AE CL the res p ons ib il ity of f ind ing a s af e d isp os al meth od . He s aid A E CL h as a c lear
c onf lic t of interes t b ec au s e it is als o res p ons ib l e f or s el l ing nu c lear energy.
As th e two MPs took their inq u iry into O ntario and Britis h Col u mb ia, CCM p rep ared for
another s et of p u b l ic hearin gs . In an inv itational letter of Dec emb er 19, 1986 , ( d el iv ered
to u s b y Sp ec ial Del iv ery on New Year's Day, 198 7!) the Hou s e of Commons Stand ing
Committee on E nv ironment an d F ores try notified u s th at
" . . . it had d ec id ed to u nd ertake a s tu d y of the s torage and d is p os al of high lev el

rad ioac tiv e waste in Canad a with an emp has is on the " . . . p rop os ed u n d ergrou nd
d is p os al s ite in Manitob a. " ( ital ic s s u p p lied )
Yikes ! Did that mean they were f inal l y d rop p ing th e p retens e; c al l ing a s p ad e a s p ad e? A
q u ic k c hec k with Bil l Blaikie's off ic e rev eal ed th at there h ad b een a s imp le " typ o" error.
Bu t, I th in k it was more like a " F reu d ian s lip , " an d f oreru nn er of things to c ome. O f c ou rs e,
th e Gov ernment c ou l d n ev er own u p to its real intentions regard ing th e l oc ation of a
nu c l ear d u mp s ite.
T he Parl iamentary Committee h earings wou ld res u l t in a rep ort to and res p ons e f rom the
Gov ern men t of Canad a. Again, this was n ot the ac tu al gov ernment in q u iry we h ad b een
rep eated ly req u es ting s inc e 198 0, b u t it was p rob ab ly the next b es t th in g. W e were onc e
again gratefu l to Bil l Blaikie, wh o, as NDP E n v ironment Critic , an d a memb er of th e
Stand ing Committee, u rged his c oll eagu es to c ond u c t the inq u iry.
Real is tic all y, h owev er, it was gettin g a b it l ate f or a Gov ernment p u b l ic hearing, more than
s ev en years af ter the f ac t of the u nd ergrou n d tes t f ac ility. V es ted interes ts in the
u nd ergrou n d s c h eme had p il ed u p d u rin g that time to the p oint where n o s emb l anc e of
ob j ec tiv ity c ou ld b e p os s ib l e.
AE CL and its nu c l ear c ons titu enc y wou l d f ight tooth and nail to p res erv e the ec onomic
and tec hnic al inf ra-s tru c tu re, alon g with the p ol itic al c lou t, that had b een c reated ov er
th os e years . W e c ou ld not hop e to d erail th eir sp eed ing train. O u r b es t b et now wou l d b e
to try to s low it d own with the d es p erate h op e th at u l timately s ome s an ity wou ld p rev ail.
E arly in 1987 , the Parliamentary Hearings got u nd erway . In ad d ition to CCM , the
Committee lined u p q u ite an array of organization s and ind iv id u al s . W e were in good
c omp any with oth er c ritic s of the n u c l ear es tab lis hment, inc l u d ing E nergy Prob e and the
Canad ian Coalition f or Nu c lear Res p on s ib il ity.
T he nu c lear estab l is hment was well rep res ented b y A E CL al ong with its T ec hn ic al
Ad v is ory Committee (T AC) . F ed eral E nv ironment an d E nergy Min is ters gav e tes timony as
d id M anitob a E nv iron men t Minis ter Gerard Lec u yer.
CCM's tes timony was d eliv ered in three s ec tions b y Carol Du y f, Don ov an T immers and
th is au thor. W e p rov id ed the Committee with two s ets of rec ommen d ation s :
#. T he firs t s et was b as ed on ou r c onv ic tion that the u nd ergrou nd nu c lear was te
rep os itory c on c ep t was totall y u nac c ep tab le and s hou l d b e d is c ard ed .
#. T he sec ond , or b ac k-u p rec ommen d ation s ou tl in ed th e meas u res that s hou l d b e taken

if the AE CL u n d ergrou nd c onc ep t s hou l d p roc eed to the s ite-s elec tion s tage.
News med ia c ov erage was good ( p rob ab l y b ec au s e the ev ent was in O ttawa!), and it p ic ked
u p the s al ient p oints in mu c h of th e tes timony. AE CL emp has ized its " p rof es s ionalis m" in
c ond u c ting its res earc h. T his p oin t was u n d ersc ored b y memb ers of its T ec hn ic al A d v is ory
Committee.
In c red u l ou s , we l is tened as AE CL s p okes p ers ons al so tol d th e inq u iry th at no l onger mu s t

rep os itory s iting b e res tric ted to p l u tonic roc k. Af ter more th an ten years of s in gin g the
p rais es of b atholiths an d p lu ton s as "the b es t roc k f ormations f or rep os itories ," AE CL
ab ru p tl y c h anged its tu ne.
Dr. W il l iam T . Hanc ox, Vic e Pres id en t, W as te Man agemen t f or A E CL c learl y exp res s ed
th is c hange of p olic y wh en h e s tated th at,
" I b eliev e now we wou l d say that th e tec hnology c an b e more general ly ap p lied
than j u s t to p l u tonic roc k of that kin d . In f ac t, it c an b e gen eral l y ap p lied in the
Canad ian Shield . W e b el iev e there is ( sic ) a l arge nu mb er of p otential sites f or a
d is p os al f ac ility. "
If I c ou ld hav e b roken into Han c ox's tes timon y at that p oint, I wou ld hav e s aid something
ab ou t th e s ol id roc k " p otential" u nd er AE CL's O ttawa off ic es . Bu t I res trained mys el f.
Any way, that id ea p rob ab l y wou l d not h av e off end ed h im and s u c h a l oc ation wou l d
s u rely b e the h eigh t of " c on v enienc e."
W e were more than a l ittl e s tartl ed at Hanc ox' s tatement. Al thou gh mu c h res earc h d ata was
not y et c omp l eted , the AE CL p re-j u d gemen t was in:
Ju s t giv e u s any old p iec e of roc k and we'll engineer the u s e of it( !)
T he CCM p res entation inc l u d ed the statement that
" T h e p res enc e of th e Lac d u Bonnet hol e p rov es onl y one th in g: T h at AE CL is

c ap ab le of c reating a hol e in the roc k."
[ F or that matter, s o c an the f armers in the Lac d u Bonn et area. T hey know that heat b reaks
u p roc ks , ev en withou t d oing any lon g-range res earc h into th e matter. T hey of ten b u ild
fires right on roc k s u rf ac es to b reak it u p in ord er to c l ear their f iel d s of roc ks . ]
Many c onc erns were aired b y CCM and th e other c ritic s, in c lu d in g d ef ic ien c ies in the
regu latory and d ec is ion -making p roc es ses and A E CL's c onf lic t of in teres t ov er reac tor s al es
and was te man agemen t.
Of s p ec ial note were the exp res s ed c onc erns ov er the reliab ility of math ematic al and
c omp u ter mod el s u s ed b y A E CL for p red ic ting the in tegrity of u nd er-grou nd nu c lear was te
rep os itories. Right f rom the s tart, mu c h of AE CL's c as e f or going u nd ergrou n d was b as ed
on s u c h mod els .
Gord on E d ward s, Pres id en t of th e Canad ian Coal ition f or Nu c l ear R es p ons ib ility, and a
Prof ess or of Mathematic s at V anier Col lege q u es tioned AE CL's h eav y rel ian c e on

mathematic al mod el s. He c hal l enged th e mod el s b y stating that
" T h e key c omp on ent of their researc h is a tec hniq u e wh ic h has not b een
d emon strated to b e reliab l e in c omp l ic ated s itu ations . "
Con c ern ov er c omp u ter mod el ing and nu c l ear was te d is p os al was al s o exp res s ed to th e
Committee b y Al R yc rof t and A layn e Mc Gregor, rep resen ting Initiativ e f or Peac efu l U se of
T ec hn ology, ( INPUT ) . Ry c rof t, a c omp u ter p rogrammer, told the Committee th at
" U nf ortu nately, sinc e c omp u ter mod els of nu c lear was te d is p osal ty p ic al l y d eal in
tens or hu nd red s of thou san d s of years , we are u nab l e to meas u re their ac c u rac y
in th e real world . T o ac c ep t th eir c onc l u s ions whol ehearted ly is an ac t of f aith. "
( ital ic s s u p p lied )
He c onc l u d ed b y s aying,
" Be s kep tic al of an yone who c l aims to p rov e anything with a c omp u ter mod el .
W hen you are inf ormed of the f ind ings of a c omp l ex c omp u ter mod el d es c rib in g
p roc es s es of the earth and rad ioac tiv e d ec ay ov er hu nd red s of th ou s and s of y ears ,
take it with a grain of s alt.
Su c h mod els are c ertain ly imp erf ec t, b u t p rob ab ly c ontain a meas u re of tru th an d
ac c u rac y. Cons id er th e imp os s ib le and as s es s its c os ts . Nev er p u t c ommon sen s e
as id e. "
W ou l d " c ommon s ens e" ev er b e a fac tor in the nu c l ear was te c ontrov ers y? Perhap s what
was need ed now was "u nc ommon s en se, " or, were we always going to b e at th e merc y of
th os e with great p ower, res ou rc es an d v ested interes ts ?
T he ans wer to th os e q u es tions c ame f rom a mos t u nexp ec ted s ou rc e, in a c omp letel y
s u rp ris ing way.
L A W O F T HE L A N D
T he b ig su rp ris e for CCM c ame on F eb ru ary 5, 1 987. Af ter his tes timon y b efore the
Parliamentary Committee, Manitob a E nv ironment Minis ter Gerard Lec u y er told rep orters
th at the Prov inc ial Gov ern men t was d raf ting l egis l ation that wou l d p rev ent th e
es tab lis hment of a n u c l ear was te d u mp in the Prov inc e.
Months earl ier Lec u yer had tol d CCM h e wou l d look into th e q u es tion of p rov in c ial
legis lation, b u t we were v ery s kep tic al in v iew of ou r earl ier f ail u res to p ers u ad e the
Manitob a Gov ernment to take legis lativ e ac tion. Bu t on F eb ru ary 6, 19 87 th e W in nip eg
F ree Pres s rep orted the Minis ter as s aying that the Prov in c e had d ec id ed to go ahead and
d o s o.
Lec u yer ec hoed one of CCM 's maj or c on c ern s , that O ttawa c ou l d p lan t its rep os itory on
th e 1 0,0 00 ac res of land whic h AE CL own s ( not Crown land ) at th e W hites hel l Nu c l ear
Res earc h E s tab l is hment ( W NRE ) at Pin awa. He was q u oted as s aying,
" T h ey c ertainly c ou ld u s e their p res ent s ite ( the 10, 000 ac res owned ou tright b y
A E CL at Pinawa) . " He c ons id ered that the l aw was ap p rop riate as a s afegu ard f or
his Prov in c e, wh ic h gains no b enef its from nu c l ear p ower. He went on to s ay th at
" No d is p osal method c an red u c e the ris k of s u c h ( rad ioac tiv e) releas e to zero,
theref ore, we d on 't want it."
T he F ree Pres s artic l e al s o rep orted Lec u yer as s ayin g the Prov inc e might amen d its other
laws to make trans p ortation of nu c l ear was te ill egal. W hen I read that, I c ou l d n ot hel p b u t
rec al l the enormou s of fic ial ov er-reac tion to the in c id en t of ou r l ittl e p ic k-u p tru c k and its
s imu l ated n u c l ear was te s p il l s .
W hat b rou ght th is ab ou t? Su d d enl y, ou r Prov inc ial Gov ern men t was going to d o
s omething c onc rete to try to p rotec t its p eop l e from th e s p ec tre of a nu c l ear was te d u mp .
CCM-ers s hook their head s in d is b el ief. Perhap s all those years of ef fort had not b een in
v ain .
My own p riv ate theory ab ou t the motiv ation f or the anti-n u c lear d u mp Bil l 28 was that a
c omb in ation of p u b l ic p res s u re p lu s A E CL's own arroganc e b rou ght it in to b eing. F or
examp le, like man y others , E nv ironment Minis ter Gerard Lec u yer reac ted negativ el y when
AE CL f req u entl y an d b latantl y p rej u d ged the res u l ts of its res earc h.
W hen it d id s o in its O c tob er 2, 1985 S ec ond Interim Conc ep t As s es s ment rep ort, Lec u yer
was q u oted in the O c tob er 7 , 198 5 Gl ob e and Mail, as s aying
" W e d on 't h av e an y ev id en c e to in d ic ate that it's ( u nd ergrou nd s torage) s af e.

T hey'v e b arel y b egu n their res earc h . I'd s ay the res u l ts are v ery p rematu re. "
( ital ic s s u p p lied )
T he Minis ter's s ens ib le c omments ou traged AE CL's Pres id ent, James Don nell y, who was
rep orted in an Oc tob er 9, 1 985 W innip eg F ree Press artic l e as s ayin g that Lec u yer had
p rov id ed no ev id enc e( !) c ontrad ic ting AE CL's f ind ings .
Donnel ly' s d efen siv e reac tion was too mu c h ev en f or th e W in nip eg F ree Pres s , wh ic h took
him to tas k in its O c tob er 1 2, 19 85 ed itorial , s tating th at
" . . . Mr. Donnel ly s hou ld kn ow b etter than to an nou nc e res u l ts of a res earc h
p rogram b efore s u c h a p rogram is c omp l eted . By d oing s o, he inv ites the c ritic is m
that Atomic E n ergy of Canad a s et ou t to p rov e th at u nd ergrou nd s torage of
rad ioac tiv e waste was s afe, and it in ten d s to d o exac tly that."
Ju s t s o! O f c ou rs e that is what AE CL was d oing! Bu t it was amazing th at AE CL's f ait

ac c omp li ap p roac h to an inc omp l ete res earc h p rojec t final l y got u nd er the skin of one of its
b iggest b oos ters -- the W innip eg F ree Pres s .
My gu es s is that Donnel ly's remarks were not f orgotten b y Gerard Lec u y er and they c ou l d
hav e eas il y c ontrib u ted to th e Man itob a Gov ernment tu rnab ou t on the q u es tion of
legis lativ e ac tion. Af ter al l, f or years we had b een tol d b y Manitob a off ic ial s th at l egis l ation

was ou t of the q u es tion !
T hat the Gov ernment was now q u ite s eriou s ab ou t the l egis lation was c lear, when on
F eb ru ary 26, 1 987, it was in c lu d ed as a p romis e in Man itob a Lieu tenant-Gov ern or George
Johns on's Sp eec h from th e T hrone, at th e op ening s es s ion of the Legis latu re.
CCM b egan exp ress ing s u p p ort for the Min is ter's p os ition, immed iatel y. In a F eb ru ary 2 0,
1987 l etter to the E d itor of the W innip eg F ree Pres s , Dav e T ayl or p roc laimed that
" E n v ironment Minis ter Gerard Lec u yer n eed s a p at on th e b ac k, . . . Conc erned
c itizens ap p l au d thes e in itiativ es as a s tep toward s a c lean er and s af er
env ironment for Manitob ans , b oth n ow and in th e f u tu re. "
F or CCM to b e c ommend in g ou r Prov inc ial l ead ers af ter s ev en years of hard -nos ed
q u es tionin g, p rying, and c h all enging, was ind eed a wel c ome c h ange for u s , and n o d ou b t, a
u niq u e exp erienc e f or th e Gov ernment!
Howev er, we maintain ed a heal thy s kep tic is m: u nl es s you h ap p en to b e the p rinc ip al
c harac ter in a Gil b ert and S u ll iv an op eretta, say ing that a l aw wil l b e enac ted , is n ot the
s ame as ac tu al l y en ac ting it. Hu rried l y, we map p ed ou t a strategy d es igned to keep the
is s u e in f ront of the p u b lic , the lawmakers and the op p os ition p arties .
On e op p ortu nity was the f irs t ann iv ers ary of the Ap ril, 1986 n u c lear reac tor exp l os ion at
Chernob yl . T h e gl ob e-gird l ing rad ioac tiv e f al lou t ( f igu rativ e, as wel l as literal ) f rom that
ac c id ent had s haken a l ot of faith in the f u tu re of nu c l ear energy.
Sinc e M anitob a was now known as an intern ational c entre of n u c l ear was te res earc h, it
s eemed on ly f ittin g to hol d th e c ommemoration c l os e to th e u nd ergrou nd f ac il ity ( U RL) at
Lac d u Bonn et.
On A p ril 26, 1 987, CCM memb ers an d su p p orters gathered at the Romanows ' f arm loc ated
onl y two miles f rom the UR L. T wo ev ents were p lan ned . A v ery l arge s ign, q u ite v is ib l e
from th e main high way, wou l d b e erec ted , and a large sc al e "time l in e" d ramatizing th e
lon gev ity of toxic nu c l ear waste wou ld b e d is p l ayed .
Signs h ad b ec ome p art of CCM's trad itions and c u l tu re. T he original Committee of
Con c ern ed Citizens had p l ac ed a s ign in the s ame l oc ation in Ju ly, 1981 , hel p f u l ly
in forming p as sing motoris ts that th ey were on ly two mil es f rom an u nd ergrou nd rad ioac tiv e
was te tes t f ac ility. V and al ized onc e, b u t res u rrec ted b y CCM s u p p orters , that s ign had
final l y s u c c u mb ed to the hars h M anitob a win ters .
T he new s ign, p rod u c ed in s ec tions , was al mos t three times as l arge as its p red ec es s or an d
onc e again , c learl y c onv eyed the loc ation of the nearb y AE CL f ac ility.
On e of the reas ons f or the CCM d is p lays was the f ailu re of th e F ed eral Gov ern men t and
AE CL to p u t u p the c u s tomary gov ern men t p roj ec t highway s igns to p roc l aim the
p roximity of a gov ern men t p roj ec t. ( On e might ev en s p ec u late th at they were not too eager
to ad v ertis e its p rec is e whereab ou ts !)
Manitob a M .P. Bill Bl aikie rais ed th is p oint with A E CL rep res entativ es d u ring the

F eb ru ary, 1 987 Parl iamentary Hearings . He tol d th em that
" O ne of the th in gs I f ind ab s ol u tely ap p all ing is th at p eop le in that area there. . .
I hap p en to know ab ou t 4 0 or 50 c ottagers wh o h av e a c o-op erativ e c ottage
d ev elop men t ab ou t a mil e and a hal f f rom the U RL as the c row f lies , and they d o
not hav e a c lu e that the thing is in their b ac k yard . "
AE CL rep res entativ es exp ress ed s ome su rp ris e b ec au s e th ey thou ght they had c on tac ted al l
th e p eop l e in th e area ab ou t th e p roj ec t. T hey agreed to look into th e matter.
W hil e ou r new s ign was b eing erec ted , I d rov e one mil e d own the highway to th e tu rn-of f
road whic h fron ts the en tranc e to th e A E CL p rojec t. Lo and b ehol d ! Sev en years in to its
p rojec t, A E CL had f inal l y erec ted a h igh way s ign of its own. It was s mal l , ( ap p roximatel y
two feet b y f ou r f eet) , not eas il y v is ib l e f rom the road , an d ap p eared to b e c ru d el y
hand -p rinted .
My b elief that the CCM s ign was far s u p erior to the " of fic ial" s ign in its ov eral l q u ality,
was c onf irmed a f ew months l ater. A f ter I f in is hed a talk on the nu c l ear was te iss u e to a
grad u ate s eminar at th e U niv ers ity of W inn ip eg, a s tu d ent as ked me ab ou t the b ig sign.
She had s een it, an d thou ght that it was an of fic ial Gov ern men t s ign. Sh e s aid it looked
v ery p rof es s ional . W hen I told her th at it was ou rs , s he b u rs t ou t l au ghing!
T he time line d ramatization was q u ite mov ing. Peop le s top p ed talking as a f ifty-f oot b olt of
fab ric was u nf u rl ed b y ou r c os tu med Grim R eap er. Marked ou t from fiv e th ou s and years in
th e p ast ( th e b eginn in g of agric u l tu re) to fiv e thou s and years in the fu tu re, th e
"ten-thou s an d -y ear-l ong" b anner d ep ic ted the ap p roximate min imal l ength of time a nu c l ear
was te rep ository mu s t s afel y c ontain mos t of its lethal c ontents , ( s ome of it is s til l toxic f or
mil lions of years ) .
Cos tu med p eop l e hol d ing s mal l p l ac ard s s tood at imp ortant p oin ts along the l in e. T h e f irs t
farmer, the b irth of Chris t, the Ind u s trial Rev ol u tion, the atomic and s p ac e age, were
v is u all y and v iv id l y rep resen ted . At the v ery end of th e l ine in the fu tu re s tood a grou p of
c hild ren, c arrying a p lac ard . It read , v ery simp l y:
"We do not inherit the earth from our parents. We borrow it from our children."
It was a tou c hin g, and emotion al s c ene.
W e were in good c omp an y when we s taged ou r Chernob y l c ommemoration. Peop le al l

arou nd the worl d were marking the terrib l e ev ent.
T he l oc al med ia c h os e not to c ov er ou r ev ent, b u t the As s oc iated Pres s ( AP) artic l e f rom

Lond on, E nglan d , whic h ap p eared in the W innip eg F ree Pres s on Ap ril 27 , 198 7, tol d of
d emons trations and rall ies al l ov er the worl d .
Prominen tl y f eatu red in th e A P artic le were exc erp ts f rom the CCM news releas e ab ou t ou r
own c ommemoration at Lac d u Bonnet.
W e u s ed th e time l in e d ramatization again d u ring the Ju ne 1 987 ann u al W al k f or Peac e in

W innip eg. It was a hot and wind y d ay as we p arad ed ou r s il ent d rama arou nd the grou nd s

of the Manitob a Legis l ativ e Bu il d ing.
It was the f irst year that th e W alk f or Peac e organizers had s et u p "theme tents" f or
s p eakers and works hop s . CCM arranged f or one to d is c u ss the rel ation s hip b etween th e
nu c l ear ind u stry and nu c l ear weap ons . Su b j ec ts inc l u d ed u s e of Canad ian nu c l ear
tec h nol ogy b y foreign gov ernments f or n on-p eac ef u l p u rp os es , and u raniu m an d tritiu m
exp orts.
W hil e other th eme tents were well attend ed , ou rs was v irtu al ly emp ty. It was one more
remind er th at there was a l ong way to go b ef ore Canad ian p eac e ac tiv is ts wou l d as soc iate
all th e v ariou s links of the nu c l ear f u el c hain .
T hey s imp ly d id not rec ogn ize that there is no arb itrary d iv is ion b etween p eac ef u l an d
non-p eac ef u l u s es of nu c l ear material s. W e hop ed that in time they wou l d l earn that
withou t a nu c lear in d u s try , there c an b e no nu c l ear weap on s.
W ith in ou r p res ent d ay time l in e, howev er, we of f ered to c ons u l t with the Manitob a
Gov ern men t on the d rafting of its p rop os ed nu c lear was te l aw, b u t it c hos e to ignore u s . In
fac t, we had d iff ic u l ty in d etermining the s tatu s of th e l egisl ation. Bu t we kep t getting
as su ran c es that it wou l d b e in trod u c ed b ef ore the end of the l egis l ativ e s es s ion , wh ic h was
s c h e d u l e d f or J u l y , 1 9 8 7 .
Du ring the waiting p eriod , CCM ap p roac h ed key memb ers of the O f f ic ial O p p osition to
try to en lis t its s u p p ort f or the b ill . A lthou gh th e Gov ernment c ou ld c ertain ly enac t it ov er
op p os ition ob jec tions , we were hop in g f or a c on sen s u s of the whol e Legis l ativ e A ss emb l y.
On May 13 , 198 7, T he Gl ob e and Mail inf ormed u s that the b ill had b een in trod u c ed .
Ac c ord ing to the artic l e, Manitob a was th e f irs t Prov inc e in Can ad a to introd u c e s u c h
legis lation.
W e b egan getting nerv ou s ab ou t the b il l when the O p p os ition s tarted c ritic izing it in the
Hou s e d eb ate. In a Ju l y 1 0, 19 87 W innip eg F ree Pres s artic l e, the O p p os ition lead er, Gary
F ilmon, was rep orted
" . . . ( as) ac c u s ing th e Gov ernment of introd u c ing a toothl es s anti-n u c lear was te
b il l to ap p eas e a l ob b y grou p . . . ( and that) the p rop osed l aw wil l not s top a
F ed eral Crown agen c y f rom d is p osing high-lev el nu c l ear was tes in Man itob a. "
T he Op p os ition had rec eiv ed a l egal op inion th at the law wou l d not p rev ail in a
s howd own with the F ed eral Gov ernment.
Du ring that d eb ate, Prov inc ial E nv ironment Min is ter Gerard Lec u yer c on c ed ed that the
legis lation c ou l d nev er b e f orc ed on the F ed eral Gov ernment b u t that it was to s erv e as an
exp res sion of th e wis hes of the p eop le. He s aid h e hop ed th e b il l wou l d n ev er b e tes ted .
On Ju l y 16, 1 987, th e p rop os ed legis lation fou nd its way to th e Legis l ativ e Committee
Hearing Room. CCM had s igned u p to tes tify b ef ore th e Committee, whic h was c omp os ed
of memb ers of th e main p ol itic al p arties . W e wond ered if A E CL wou l d b other to c hal len ge
th e b il l at this p oint, in v iew of its oft-s tated op inion that an y n u c lear was te rep os itory
wou ld mos t l ikely wind u p in O ntario, n ot Manitob a. Ind eed , A E CL d id ap p ear and mad e

a s trong s tatement in op p os ition to it.
T he Crown c orp oration s tated its main ob j ec tions to the b ill as f ol lows :
" T h e Bil l ap p ears to b e u nnec es s ary at th is time. "
" It ap p ears to p re-j u d ge th e tec hn ology f or d is p osal th at is b eing d ev el op ed b y A E CL."
" It p rohib its the s torage of ou t-of -Prov inc e h igh -l ev el nu c lear was te; this c ou ld
ad v ers el y aff ec t f u tu re c ommerc ial d ev el op ments in Man itob a. "
" It es tab l is hes a p olitic al c limate d etrimental to the nu c l ear ind u s try in Manitob a. "
In h is p res entation to the Legis lativ e Committee, Dr. W . T . Han c ox, V ic e-Pres id ent, W as te
Management, A E CL, reiterated the of t-mad e p oint th at there was n o " intention " to
es tab lis h a nu c lear was te d is p osal s ite in Manitob a.
He went on to s ay that th e el ec tric al u til ities in th e three Prov in c es whic h p rod u c e nu c l ear
p ower -- New Bru ns wic k, Qu éb ec , and O ntario, -- were res p ons ib le f or the d isp os al of the
nu c l ear was te. Bu t, he went ou t of h is way to p ain t a rosy p ic tu re of a b ig ind u s try,
in v olv ing a b ill ion d oll ar inv es tment, and a workf orc e of s ix hu nd red need ed to op erate
s u c h a f ac ility.
W hat he neglec ted to say was that, when p res s ed , O ttawa s till c ategoric all y refu sed to ru le
ou t M anitob a f or p otential rep ository s itin g.
T hen c ame one of thos e c las s ic s tatements ref lec ting A E CL's own p rej u d gmen ts of the
res earc h res u lts th at we had h eard ov er the y ears .
" O nc e th e s af ety of the d is p osal tec h nol ogy has b een es tab l ish ed , ( ital ic s
s u p p lied ) we antic ip ate that many c ommu nities will find hav ing s u c h a fac il ity an
attrac tiv e p ros p ec t. T h u s , ev en if Manitob a wanted to hos t s u c h a f ac il ity, it
s eems to u s , highl y u nl ikely that the Prov inc es making the inv estment wou l d
agree. "
T hat is wh at V ic e-Pres id ent W as te Management AE CL's Dr. W . T . Han c ox s aid ! Not if th e

s afety of the tec hnol ogy is es tab lis hed , b u t onc e it is es tab lis hed . Not onl y that, b u t towns
and c ities wil l b e f al ling all ov er thems elv es to take the nu c l ear garb age wh il e M anitob a
will p rob ab l y mis s ou t on the f ran c his e op p ortu n ity of ( many) lif etimes !
I marv eled and al l b u t l au ghed ou t lou d at the b izarre twists of l ogic whic h c ou p l ed th e
AE CL s ec ond main ob jec tion: It ( i. e., the p rop osed l egisl ation) ap p ears to p re-j u d ge the
tec h nol ogy for d is p os al that is b ein g d ev elop ed b y AE CL. . . with Vic e-Presid en t Hanc ox's
p re-j u d gmental s tatement!
Of c ou rs e, Hanc ox mad e n o ref erenc e in his p res en tation to the many AE CL-c ommis s ioned
p u b l ic op in ion p oll s whic h c ast c ons id erab l e d ou b t on h is c laim that c ommu nities wou l d " .
. . f ind s u c h a f ac il ity an attrac tiv e p ros p ec t. "
Howev er, it s eemed th at A E CL's immed iate c onc ern ov er Bill 2 8 was far more related to the
real ities of its c u rrent s itu ation . T h e b il l c ontained a c l au s e wh ic h p rohib ited th e s torage of
high-l ev el n u c l ear was te originatin g f rom ou ts id e the Prov in c e f or more th an sev en d ays .
T his , ac c ord ing to the AE CL tes timony, wou ld res u l t in its inab il ity to s tore the waste at its
Pinawa res earc h s tation , f rom its new " Saf e Low Power Kritic al ( sic ) E xp erimen t, " ( a. k. a.
SLO W POKE ) .
T he SLOW PO KE was a s mal l ( 10 Megawatt) nu c l ear reac tor that AE CL was ac tiv ely
marketing arou nd the world , as the " c u te l ittl e reac tor that c ou l d , " ev en thou gh it was s till
in the early s tages of u ntes ted d esign. AE CL maintained that Bil l 28 wou l d forc e it to s et
u p f ac il ities el s ewh ere at ad d itional c ost, an d th at Manitob a wou ld l os e " c ommerc ial
b enef its " from th e SLOW PO KE p rogram.
Ob v iou s ly, AE CL had p l anned to retriev e the waste f rom all th e SLO W PO KE s that it
exp ec ted to s el l, an d b ring it to Pin awa f or s torage! Years l ater, wh en A E CL's SLO W PO KE
exp eriment grou nd to a hal t an d f inal ly c ol lap s ed , I thou ght ab ou t al l thos e p ie-in-the-sky
"c ommerc ial b enef its " !
W hereas AE CL was highl y c ritic al of Bill 28, CCM general ly p rais ed it, and of f ered some
s u gges tions f or imp rov ement. W e told the Legis lativ e Committee that th e Bil l c ontained
s ome weaknes s es , s u c h as
Leav ing the d oor op en f or rep roc es s in g of s p ent n u c l ear f u el .
It d id not p rev ent trans p ortation of s p ent nu c l ear f u el throu gh the Prov inc e.
T he term " res earc h" was not d ef ined , an d
T here were no time or q u antity l imits on monitored retriev ab l e s torage f ac il ities .
Bu t Manitob a Bil l 2 8, the High-Lev el Rad ioac tiv e W aste Ac t, was p roc l aimed into law,
withou t su b s tantiv e c hange. It c ontains a b an on the irretriev ab l e emp lac ement of
high-l ev el rad ioac tiv e was tes in a rep os itory in Manitob a. V iol ation of the p rov is ions of the
Ac t c an res u l t in f ines f or ind iv id u al s of u p to ten thou s an d d oll ars p er d ay, and u p to on e
mil lion d ol l ars p er d ay f or c orp orations .
Howev er, the Bill c ontin u es to al low f or retriev ab l e s torage of s u c h was tes u s ed f or res earc h
p u rp os es . T hu s , A E CL's res earc h ac tiv ities at its Pin awa res earc h s tation were u naf f ec ted
b y th e Bil l . AE CL has s ev eral ab ov egrou n d storage d ep ots at the W NRE f or its res earc h
was tes .
Al s o, the Bill d id n ot af f ec t AE CL and U . S. Dep artmen t of E nergy geologic al exp eriments

at or arou nd the u nd ergrou nd tes t f ac ility ( U RL) at Lac d u Bonn et.
AE CL's mas ter p l an for a seal ed -u p u n d ergrou nd high-lev el rad ioac tiv e garb age d u mp c ou ld
not b e imp l emen ted in th e Prov inc e of Manitob a u nd er the p rov is ions of Bill 28, at leas t,
in a wors t c as e s c enario, u nl es s ov errid d en b y the F ed eral Gov ernment.
Med ia c ov erage on the p as s age of Bill 28 was s p arse. T he W inn ip eg Su n artic le on Ju ly 17 ,

1987 , rep orted
A E CL's c onc ern th at Bil l 28 " . . . will hamp er the Pinawa res earc h f ac ility's
marketing of th e SLOW PO KE reac tor."
W innip eg F ree Pres s jou rn alis t, Arl ene Bill in kof f, d ev oted her A u gu s t 6, 19 87 c ol u mn to
th e Bil l , s tres s ing the f ac t that it was largel y s ymb ol ic ,
" . . . ref l ec ting the Gov ern men t's d es ire to p rotec t the Prov inc e . . . T here is
noth ing wron g with that ob jec tiv e, b u t one s hou ld not as s u me it wil l d o mu c h
more."
She was right. You d on't need to b e a p olitic al sc ientis t to know that the F ed eral
Gov ern men t has enormou s p owers as regard s n u c lear energy.
Bu t, Prov inc ial Gov ernments d o h av e s omething to s ay ab ou t their env ironment, natu ral
res ou rc es , high way u s e, p rop erty v al u es , rec reation, tou ris m, and p u b lic heal th and s af ety.
CCM s h ares Mr. Lec u y er's hop e that Bill 28 wil l nev er b e tes ted .
If ev er it is , we hop e an d ass u me that s ome, if n ot al l, of thos e areas of Prov in c ial

ju ris d ic tion, wou ld b e b rou gh t into the d is c u s s ion s and l egal argu ments .
Cl early, CCM's eff orts had a s ign if ic ant imp ac t on the p as s age of Bil l 28, and we take a
great d eal of p rid e an d p leas u re in its exis ten c e. Bu t we know th at CCM was onl y th e
c atal ys t whic h hel p ed to mob il ize c onc erned s egments of th e p u b l ic : c hu rc h and
env ironmental grou p s , s tu d en ts and p rof es s ors, mu nic ip al gov ernments and many p riv ate
c itizens .
Howev er, Bil l 28 was not the onl y p iec e of n u c lear was te legis lation th at s aw the light of
d ay in 19 87.
T he U .S. Dep artment of E nergy's d omes tic p rogram had c ome to a v irtu al s tand still after
its with d rawal f rom the c rys tall in e roc k s tates . V ariou s c ommittees of the US Congres s
were working on legis lation d es ign ed to d eal with the iss u e.
T hings had b ec ome s o b ad f or th e U S " nu kes , " that two Congres s men ev en went s o f ar as
to introd u c e a b il l whic h wou l d p rov id e a mill ion-d oll ars -p er- year inc entiv e to any State or
In d ian trib e that wou ld agree to hos t a n u c lear was te rep os itory!
In retu rn, the s tate or trib e wou l d giv e u p an y rights to s u e, or to v eto th e s ite s el ec tion. So
mu c h for s c ien c e, and a sc ientific s elec tion p roc es s!
Op p onen ts s oon b egan c al ling it th e " Brib e" Bil l .
By F al l of 1 987 two c omp eting n u c l ear was te b ill s h ad emerged f or c ontention in the U .S .
Con gres s . O ne b ill , s p ons ored b y R ep res entativ e Morris U d all , ( Democ rat, Arizona) c al l ed
for a moratoriu m on the entire Americ an nu c lear was te p rogram, while a sp ec ial
c ommis s ion s tu d ied the is s u e.
T he other b il l c on c eiv ed b y p ro-nu c lear hawk, Senator Bennett Joh ns ton, ( Democ rat,
Lou is ian a) , and Senator James Mc Cl u re (R ep u b lic an, Id ah o) , req u ired that the three
wes tern U . S. target s tates ( Nev ad a, T exas , and W as h ington ), b e red u c ed to on e. T h is was
th e b il l whic h f inal ly b ec ame law as amend ments to the U . S. F ed eral Nu c lear W as te Polic y
Ac t of 19 82.
Criteria in the b il l p u t Nev ad a ahead of the States of T exas and W as hington. Han ford ,
W as hington is in c l os e p roximity to the Col u mb ia R iv er, an d th e T exas s ite is ab ov e a
maj or six-s tate aq u if er. Yu c c a Mou n tain, Nev ad a, thu s b ec ame the target loc ation f or the
firs t U .S. high-lev el rad ioac tiv e was te rep os itory. T h e amend ed l aw q u ic kl y b ec ame known

in the State as th e " Stic k It T o Nev ad a" Bil l !
Some of the elements of the "Brib e" Bill were inc orp orated into the amend ments , inc l u d ing
gran ts ( b rib es ?) of from ten to twenty mil lion d ol l ars annu all y, f or whic h th e State wou ld
giv e u p v eto and j u d ic ial rev iew rights. Al s o, s p ec ial c ons id eration f or fu tu re F ed eral
mega-p roj ec ts wou l d b e f orthc omin g.
Bu y now! Pay l ater! T he " b rib e" as p ec ts of nu c l ear was te s iting ef forts , with a s eemingl y
total ab s enc e of any s c ientif ic or tec h nol ogic al b as is in the s ite s elec tion, in my v iew
c ons titu te nothing more than a c ras s an d d is gu sting form of gov ernment-s u b s id ized ,
in tergenerational rap e.
T ime wil l tel l if a rep ository will ac tu al l y b e b u il t in Nev ad a. Legall y, tec hnic al ly, if DO E
find s that the s ite is u n su itab l e, it mu s t s top work on it and rep ort to the Con gres s .
Howev er, s ome ob s erv ers f ear that DO E d are not c ome u p with a n egativ e c onc l u s ion,
s inc e the whole U .S. nu c l ear was te p rogram wou l d th en b e b ac k at "s q u are on e."
Among the p eop l e who migh t wel c ome th e f ailu re of the Yu c c a Mou ntain p roj ec t are
Canad ian of f ic ial s who hav e tal ked op en ly ab ou t the ec onomic b en efits of takin g nu c lear
garb age f rom other c ou ntries. No q u es tion b u t that u n th in kab l y en ormou s s u ms of money
are inv ol v ed in the we' ll p ay you to s tic k it an ywhere b u t here " s ol u tion " to high -l ev el ,
highly toxic rad ioac tiv e was tes .
In an A u gu s t 2 , 198 6 Gl ob e and Mail artic l e, Nev ad a Gov ern or R ic hard Bryan d ec l ared his
op p os ition to the Nev ad a s ite d ec is ion b y s aying
" W e'v e ( al read y) d one ou r sh are f or the nu c l ear ind u s try. "
In d eed they hav e!
Al thou gh f ew c ome right ou t and s ay it, I s u s p ec t one of the main reas ons the c hoic e c ame
d own to the Nev ad a l oc ation is th e p res enc e of the nearb y u n d ergrou nd nu c l ear weap ons
tes t s ite.
Af ter al l, if you are going to hav e a " National S ac rif ic e Area" you might as well go al l the
way -- wh ic h is what, I am s u re, s ome of th e U . S. F ed eral s trategis ts hav e b een th in kin g.
Some Nev ad a c itizens exp res s ed c onc ern ov er the imp ac t of a nu c l ear was te d u mp on
tou ris m. Las Vegas , as well as other p arts of the State, are f av ou rite s p ots for many
Canad ian as wel l as U. S. v is itors . Bu t will " s now-b ird s " want to b ask in th e s u n , take in the
s hows , and gamb le their money away, whil e s ev en ty thou s an d metric tonnes of rad ioac tiv e
was te are b eing sh ip p ed in to and b u ried in Nev ad a?
Not this one! And , I d are s ay, not many another will want to take th at gamb l e, if and wh en
th e Nev ad a nu c lear garb age d u mp is b u ilt: on e of th e b igges t ( n u c lear) gamb les of them
all !
Bu t, f or th e f irs t time in many years , CCM memb ers an d s u p p orters b reathed a real s igh of
rel ief. T he threat of a n u c lear was te d u mp in northern Minnes ota was mu c h d iminish ed

and the n ew High Lev el Rad ioac tiv e W as te Bil l 28 in M anitob a was a reality.
And n ow the s p otl ight was on the iss u e at th e F ed eral lev el . CCM had high hop es that the
Parliamentary Hearin gs wou l d h av e s ome in fl u en c e on the f orthc oming c ou rs e of ev ents .
CCM LOO KS AHE A D
"W hat imp ac t d id Bil l 28 hav e on the CCM?"
T he q u estion c ame f rom a p erc ep tiv e U niv ers ity of W inn ip eg grad u ate s tu d ent d u rin g my
gu es t l ec tu re ap p earan c e in Nov emb er, 198 7. Sh e wond ered if ou r p eop l e had b een
"ap p eas ed " b y the Gov ernment.
I s mil ed as I rememb ered the word s of the op p os ition Progres s iv e Cons erv ativ e Party th at
th e Gov ernment had p as s ed th e b il l s imp l y to " ap p ease a v oc al l ob b y grou p " -- an ob v iou s
ref erenc e to CCM.
F or a whil e, it d id s eem as if CCM might fad e away. Many of its mos t ac tiv e p eop l e took
lon g s u mmer h olid ays d u ring 1987 , and I b egan to wond er if the end of th e grou p h ad
final l y c ome.
In an A u gu s t, 19 87 CCM n ews l etter ed itorial, I had u rged the grou p not to rest on its
lau rel s . A fter al l , we had mad e a moral c ommitment to others in ou r in ter-national network
th at we wou l d lend s u p p ort to other c ommu nities and c itizens ' grou p s in whatev er way we
c ou l d .
Up on ou r retu rn to W in nip eg, af ter a F all hol id ay , it was q u ite ob v iou s that any c onc ern I
had ov er the p os s ib l e d emis e of CCM was u nf ou n d ed . E nthu s ias m was high and agend as
were fu ll . CCM was not onl y al iv e an d wel l, it was read y to take on more is s u es and
d iv ers if y into other areas of env ironmental c on c ern , with an emp h as is on nu c l ear
tec h nol ogy.
T hes e iss u es ranged f rom a p otential nu c l ear s u b marine b as e at Chu rc h il l, Manitob a, to

p rolif eration of n u c l ear tec hnol ogy b y the W hites h ell Nu c l ear R es earc h E s tab lis hment, in
th e f orm of f ood irrad iators and s mall n u c l ear reac tors .
T he nu c lear su b marine iss u e ros e to the s u rfac e in M anitob a d u ring Au gu s t, 198 7.

Prov inc ial T rans p ortation Minis ter John Pl ohman was rep orted in the A u gu s t 5, 19 87
ed ition of the W inn ip eg F ree Pres s as say ing
( that) " . . . wh il e h e d oes not s u p p ort the F ed eral Cons erv ativ es ' d ec is ion to
ac q u ire 10-12 nu c l ear s u b marines , the Hu d s on Bay p ort of Chu rc hill s hou l d b e
c on sid ered as a b as e if O ttawa goes ahead . "
T he artic l e went on to rep ort a q u es tion I had raised ab ou t the ap p l ic ation of th e new
Manitob a n u c l ear was te law. R efu eling th e s u b marines wou l d req u ire b ringing sp ent
nu c l ear f u el into the Prov in c e f or p u rp os es oth er than researc h. W ou l d this c ontrav ene the
new l aw?
As th e l arger d eb ate ov er was still goin g on as to whether or not th ey s h ou l d b e b u il t, the

q u es tion of a b as e f or th e s u b marines s eemed s omewhat p rematu re. My own v iew, al ong
with that of many others , was that a f lotil la of n u c lear s u b marin es in Arc tic waters f or th e
p u rp os e of as s erting Canad ian sov ereignty wou ld not onl y b e an ou trageou s exp en d itu re of
p u b l ic f u n d s , b u t ju s t p l ain s tu p id .
Pic tu re a "f ac e-of f" b etween a Canad ian nu c lear-p owered f l eet and the Ru s s ian Nav y, or,
Canad a taking th e U S into the b oard s , at high noon, in the high A rc tic ( to mix metap hors
ju st a trifl e) . A s it tu rned ou t, wis d om p rev ailed , and O ttawa d rop p ed the su b marine
p rojec t.
W hil e the is s u e of a b as e f or nu c lear p owered s u b marines was s till in q u estion, an other

ap p l ic ation of " s mall -sc al e" n u c l ear tec hnol ogy was gain in g greater p rominenc e -- AE CL was
s tartin g to heav ily p romote its S afe Low Power Kritic al ( s ic ) E xp eriment, or "SLO W -PO KE "
reac tor.
T hinking b ac k to the l ate 19 50s , d u ring my tou r of d u ty with the U S A tomic E nergy
Commis s ion, I rec all a whol e range of p roj ec ts an d id eas f or p roj ec ts to u s e the energy of
th e atom. Poss ib ilities p rop os ed then inc l u d ed s in gle-home heatin g, roc ket, airp l ane and
au tomob ile p rop u l s ion sy stems .
Sanity en tered the p ic tu re in the 60s and 70 s, as p rob lems with nu c lear p ower reac tors
b egan to inc reas e. Mos t of the id eas were d rop p ed , and p eop le ev en b egan to ap p l y b lac k
hu mor to nu c l ear tec hn ology. Cartoonis ts and s atiris ts had a f iel d d ay with the ob v iou s
c ontrast b etween the theory that p romoted the p os s ib ility of " elec tric ity too c heap to
meter, " and the growing awarenes s of a tec h nol ogy rif e with f laws .
On e n otion that tic kl ed my f anc y b ac k in the " old d ay s, " was the nu c lear-p owered
homes tead . Du rin g s ome of my earl y tal ks on th e n u c lear was te c ontrov ers y, I wou l d try to
u s e h u mor to d es c rib e the rad ioac tiv e ab od e of the f u tu re: env is ion wal kin g arou n d in
lead -c oated s lip p ers , or tod d l ers wearing l ead d iap ers , etc . ( O nc e in a whil e s omeone
lau ghed !)
Bu t I q u it lau gh in g when I read a s eriou s artic le in the Lac d u Bonnet Lead er of Ju ne 15,
1982 , head l ined " Nu c lear F u rnac es Cou l d Soon Be Heatin g You r Hou se. " It went on to
d es c rib e the s mal l SLOW PO KE reac tor whic h c ou l d h eat a b u ild in g and req u ire ref u el ing
onl y onc e ev ery f iv e years .
Nev erthel es s , I tried to maintain my s ens e of h u mor. I mu s ed on the A E CL c hoic e of its

c u te ac rony m f or what it s ometimes c all s its S afe Low Power Kritic al ity E xp erimen t, and
d ayd reamed ab ou t p os s ib il ities f or an ad v ertis ing c amp aign, su c h as:
" Ch oos e S LO W PO KE , f ol ks -- s u c h a f riend l y, reeee-laxed , l i'l ol e' heating p l ant.

Jes ' c rank it u p , an ' forrr-get it. . . " , or " SLOW PO KE -- that wond erf u l , warm
l ittl e heating p l ant f or y ou r v ery own c ommu n ity, b rou ght to you b y the same

f ol ks who irrad iate you r s trawb erries . . . "
I al s o f ou n d it fas c inatin g that AE CL c hos e to u se the word " Saf e," to d es c rib e its n ew
"b ab y" reac tor. It l ef t me with more ap p rehens ions than I alread y had ab ou t its l arge p ower
reac tors , " CA NDU , " whic h l ac ked that v ital word . W ou ld they now c hange th e n ame to
"S CA NDU " ? O r, p erhap s they d id n' t realize th e inc ons is tenc y in the firs t p l ac e!
Perhap s , too, th e word " E xp eriment" s hou ld b e d rop p ed from th e f u l l name of the
SLO W POKE , ev en thou gh it d es troy s the c u te ac rony m. Af ter al l, who wan ts to b u y a
rad ioac tiv e "exp eriment" to heat their c ommu nity c en tre?
I f ou nd it interes ting that, f or b u sines s p u rp os es , A E CL was als o c all ing its c reation th e
"S lowp oke E n ergy Sy stem, " rath er than the "S lowp oke Nu c l ear Reac tor. " Perhap s the name
was in v ented b y th e s ame p ers on who thou ght u p the "U nd ergrou n d Res earc h Lab oratory,"
for the Lac d u Bonn et hol e, whic h n eatl y av oid s the nas ty word s " nu c l ear waste, " and
"rad ioac tiv e was te. "
If AE CL nomenc l atu re exp erts real l y ad d res s the p rob l em, th ey c ou ld ev en tu all y elimin ate
all su c h u ns av ou ry word s, in c lu d in g word s s u c h as " atomic ," " rad iation, " and " nu c l ear
exp eriment, " thu s greatl y eas ing ( or d ec eiv ing?) the mind s of the p u b lic , to s ay n oth in g of
d isgu is ing what materials the agen c y is real l y u sing and s p read ing arou nd .
T he d emons tration 2-megawatt SLO W PO KE mod el ( an u p s c al ed v ers ion of a v ery s mal l

u niv ers ity res earc h mod el ) b egan op eration ( not f u l l -s c al e) at AE CL's Pinawa res earc h
s tation on Ju ly 15 , 198 7. Bu t well b efore that d emon s tration mod el was u p and ru nn ing
( as an exp erimen t its el f ), th e Crown Corp oration was al read y ac tiv ely marketing it( !) in
s u c h p l ac es as China, Korea, E u rop e an d Canad a's own North wes t T erritory.
By Janu ary, 19 88, A E CL had s ign ed a memoran d u m of agreement with Hu ngary for a
p otential SLO W POKE s ale.
CCM b ec ame interes ted in the SLOW PO KE as a res u l t of a May 29 , 198 6, W inn ip eg F ree
Pres s artic l e h ead l ined " R ad ioac tiv e W as te R ep os itory f or Man itob a Pl anned b y A genc y. "
AE CL s aid it p lann ed to remov e s p ent f u el f rom eac h S LO W PO KE reac tor ev ery f iv e to
eigh t years . T h e thirty or forty f u el b u nd l es wou l d b e p lac ed in c onc rete c yl ind ers at its
res earc h f ac il ities at Pinawa, Manitob a an d Chal k Riv er, O ntario. E v entu al ly , it was
rep orted , the was te wou l d go into th e ( s til l n on-exis tent) p ermanen t u nd ergrou nd was te
rep os itory.
CCM took the p os ition that the Prov inc e s hou l d not p ermit s torage of SLO W PO KE waste
and that
( it s hou ld ) " . . . b loc k the b u il d u p of an ythin g whic h ten d s to take u s c l os er to a

nu c lear rep os itory in Man itob a. "
If AE CL s tarted b ringing its f oreign c u s tomers ' SLO W POKE exc remen t b ac k to Canad a, it
wou ld b e wel l on the road to the f u ll -s c ale c ommerc ial intern ational rad ioac tiv e was te
d u mp ab ou t wh ic h CCM had b een warn ing the p u b l ic f or so many years .
Ac c ord ing to the artic l e, Prov inc ial E n v ironment Minis ter Gerard Lec u yer was c au ght b y
s u rp ris e b y th is d ev el op ment and in d ic ated that " . . . his initial reac tion was one of
op p os ition ."
Coinc id ental ly, it was onl y a f ew months later that AE CL ob j ec ted strenu ou s ly to
Manitob a's new High Lev el Rad ioac tiv e W as te A c t whic h gen eral l y p roh ib ited
imp orting s u c h was tes into the Prov inc e f or non -res earc h p u rp os es .
I wond ered wh at the Prov in c ial Gov ernment wou ld d o ev en tu all y ab ou t th e SLOW PO KE
was tes retu rning to Manitob a f rom arou nd the worl d , b u t the is s u e b ec ame ac ad emic a f ew
years l ater wh en the entire SLOW PO KE p rogram c oll ap s ed like the f ragile and exp ens iv e
white el ep h ant that it was .
CCM's in teres t in the SLO W PO KE grew f u rther as a res u lt of an artic l e in the W in nip eg
F ree Pres s on Ju ly 24 , 198 7, whic h rep orted AE CL's Metro Dmytriw as s aying th at
the Corp oration had rec eiv ed an initial inq u iry ab ou t th e p u rc has e of a
SLOW PO KE f rom an interested p arty in Manitob a.
Ac c ord ing to the artic l e,
Dmytriw al s o s u gges ted that a SLO W PO KE nu c lear reac tor might b e a

rep l ac ement f or W in nip eg's agin g c entral s team heating p l ant. It was p ointed ou t
that AE CL had hel d no d isc u s sions with th e c ity n or d id c ity of f ic ial s exp res s an y
interest in the id ea at the time. ( Anoth er AE CL p u b l ic relations p ie-in-the-s ky
c on c ep t?) Italic s s u p p l ied
Other env ironmental grou p s had b een c ritic izing the SLO W PO KE for s ome while. T he
Montreal Gazette, May 22 , 198 6, rep orted Norm Ru b in of E nergy Prob e in T oronto as
s ayin g
. . .( the id ea is ) " c razy. " Ru b in wond ered how, in the ev ent of an ac c id en t, a

hosp ital or s hop p ing mall c ou l d b e ev ac u ated , es p ec iall y s in c e the SLO W POKE
wou l d op erate " u nattend ed " f or s ome p eriod s of time.
T he s ame artic l e in c lu d ed simil ar c onc erns exp res s ed b y Gord on E d ward s , of the
Montreal-b as ed Can ad ian Coal ition for Nu c l ear Res p ons ib il ity. Both Ru b in an d E d ward s
p ointed to the u ns ol v ed nu c l ear was te p rob l em as a good reas on f or not p roc eed in g with
th e d ev elop men t and marketing of th e SLOW PO KE n u c lear reac tors .
As id e from th e was te, saf ety, an d ec onomic q u es tions su rrou nd ing th e SLOW PO KE , CCM
exp res sed c on c ern ov er reac tor s ec u rity. An u nattend ed reac tor op erating in a s mal l
c ommu nity or a b u il d ing in a large c ity c ou l d p res ent u n p arall el ed op p ortu nities for
anyone f ool is h enou gh to want to s teal high -l ev el n u c lear was tes . ( T h e d esign c al led f or
s p ent f u el rod s to b e s tored within eac h reac tor, u n til remov ed to s ome other l oc ation.)
Other p os s ib le ac ts might inc l u d e s ab otaging the u n ten d ed reac tors th ems el v es , or

p u mp ing ou t the water ( whic h b ec omes more rad ioac tiv e as the reac tor op erates) , into a
mu nic ip al s ys tem. U nf ores een and u nan tic ip ated d amage and ac ts of terroris m are a real
p os s ib il ity when one c ons id ers the man y u ns tab le p ol itic al s itu ation s arou nd the worl d ,

and the s c atter-b rained marketing s trategies of AE CL.
T he l arge p ower reac tors p res u mab l y hav e reas on ab l y good s ec u rity s ys tems , and the
likel ih ood of a major b reac h is rel ativ ely s mall . Bu t ev en thos e reac tors hav e th eir
p rob l ems . Ac c ord ing to the O c tob er 2, 1987 Critic al Mas s E nergy Proj ec t's news l etter,
Pu b l ic Citizen, in the U S,
" Dozens of s ec u rity b reac hes oc c u rred at nu c l ear p lan t s ites in 19 86. T hes e
inc l u d e v and al is m and s ab otage d irec ted at reac tor op erations ; u se of firearms on
p l ant s ites b y u nau thorized p ersons ; and inc reas ing d ru g u s e among n u c l ear
workers . " A ls o, s ome workers hav e b een f ou nd , literall y, as l eep at the switc h .
AE CL's s al e of a CANDU reac tor to Ind ia, wh ic h res u l ted in p rov id ing that c ou ntry with
nu c l ear weap ons -grad e p lu ton iu m and hen c e, nu c l ear weap ons c ap ab il ity, c ontinu es to
p l agu e the c ol lec tiv e Canad ian c ons c ienc e.
Al thou gh it was temp ting to find s ome h u mor in p ic tu ring " c u te l ittl e ol e" SLO W PO KE
nu c l ear reac tors s p ringin g u p l ike mu s h rooms , it real ly was q u ite a s eriou s is s u e. It was
b eginning to ap p ear that a f in anc ial l y d es p erate AE CL was wil l ing to market anything it
c ou l d , ev en in th e tentativ e d es ign s tages , in ord er to s tay al iv e.
W hil e CCM was s tu d ying th e S LO W PO KE , and es p ec ial ly its relations hip to the was te
is s u e, th e s u b jec t of f ood irrad iation was s immering on th e b ac k b u rn er. A Parliamentary
Committee on th e s u b jec t had rec ommend ed a moratoriu m on ap p l ic ations of f ood
irrad iation tec hnol ogy, p end ing f u rth er toxic ologic al s tu d ies .
T he Gov ernment of Can ad a c h os e to d is regard the Committee f ind ings ! Howev er, one
eff ort to introd u c e food irrad iation f ail ed when a Can ad ian en v iron men tal ac tiv is t l earn ed
of p l ans b y a maj or mu l ti-national s u p ermarket c h ain to p romote irrad iated p otatoes at one
of its s tores in On tario.
T he p l an was ab orted b y th e c hain wh en it rec eiv ed ad v ers e reac tion from th e p u b l ic af ter
th e ap p earanc e of a Canad ian op p onent of f ood irrad iation on a U S rad io s how. Cons u mers
in the U S an d Canad a threatened to b oyc ott the c hain if the Canad ian marketing tes t
p roc eed ed .
CCM, whic h h ad b een res earc hing th e is s u e for s ome while, s tarted a c amp aign of l etters to
maj or su p er-markets , f ood wholes al ers , u nions and c ons u mer grou p s . T h e l etters ind ic ated
th at CCM was p rep ared to mou n t a b oyc ott of any s tore that c arrieD irrad iated f ood .
Sinc e A E CL, Pinawa, was inv ol v ed in the d ev el op ment and marketing of f ood irrad iation
tec h nol ogy, the is s u e had al l the earmarks of another c onf l ic t ov er the p rol if eration of
nu c l ear tec hnology.
CCM al s o c ontin u ed to monitor the ac tiv ities of the U S Dep artment of E n ergy ( DO E ) in
th e n u c lear was te res earc h at Lac d u Bonnet. T he 1987 amend ments to the Americ an
Nu c lear W as te Polic y Ac t not on ly p inp ointed Nev ad a as the target State f or the f irs t U S
rep os itory, b u t al s o p rohib ited al l s ite-s p ec if ic work for a s ec on d rep os itory, u n les s
au thorized b y Congres s . T h e b il l req u ired th at f u nd ing f or c rys tall ine roc k rep os itory

res earc h b e p has ed ou t within s ix mon th s .
W hat eff ec t wou l d that p rov is ion hav e on th e DO E -AE CL j oin t res earc h p rogram at the
Lac d u Bonn et f ac il ity ? W ou l d the DO E u s e the p rov is ion s in its c ontrac t with AE CL
whic h al low it to p u l l ou t? O r, wou ld it c on tinu e to d eep en the sh aft, an d c ontin u e its
p rojec ts u s in g s o-c al led " generic res earc h ," ap p l ic ab le to the Yu c c a Mou ntain , Nev ad a,
p rojec t? As it tu rned ou t, DO E stayed on at Lac d u Bonn et f or anoth er 5 years .
W hil e CCM was attemp ting to monitor the U S s itu ation an d h ow it migh t af fec t the
Canad ian p rogram, A E CL an nou nc ed that it had entered into another agreement with the
Jap anes e.
On Janu ary 25 , 198 8, A E CL wrote to p rop erty owners in the Lac d u Bonnet Ru ral
Mu nic ip ality, ou tl inin g the terms of a c ond itional agreement b etween its elf and Jap an to
c ond u c t a "c on tained rad ioac tiv e trac er exp erimen t" in the u nd ergrou n d fac il ity.
AE CL s aid it p lann ed to ap p ly f or an A tomic E nergy Control Board l ic enc e to b egin the

exp eriment in F eb ru ary , 198 9, u s ing s u c h trac er material s as T ec hnetiu m 99 , Pl u toniu m
238, and Americ iu m 241.
T he p u b lic was s oothin gly as s u red th at the exp eriment p os ed no d anger and that
T he Prov inc ial Gov ernment gav e p rov is ional ap p rov al to the p roj ec t s u b j ec t to the d ec is ion
of the F ed eral A tomic E nergy Con trol Board . CCM p rotes ted that the u s e of s u c h materials
as p l u toniu m c ons titu ted a b reac h of the Gov ernment's own Crown Land Leas e to AE CL,
whic h p rohib its the u s e of nu c l ear was te material s in th e f ac ility.
W hat is a rad ioac tiv e trac er, and wh at is rad ioac tiv e waste? T h ese were the same kind s of
q u es tions rais ed b y CCM with the Prov in c ial Gov ernment years earl ier. In the inf ormation
s u p p l ied b y W .G. Bowen ( Nov emb er, 19 81) th en Dep u ty Minis ter of the Dep artment of
Con su mer and Corp orate Af f airs and E nv ironment, we were as s u red that the typ es of
p os s ib le trac ers to b e u s ed wou l d b e
" . . . s hort-l iv ed rad ioac tiv e trac ers s u c h as Bromine 82 ( 36 hou rs hal f -l if e) ,
Iod ine 131 ( 8 d ays hal f-l if e) and Strontiu m 85 ( 65 d ays hal f l if e) . A nother typ e
of rad ioac tiv e trac er that might b e u s ed is T ritiu m ( 3H, hal f-l if e 12. 26 years ) ,
whic h c an b e f ol lowed f or a p eriod of s ev eral years , b u t is not so l ong-liv ed that it
might c au s e a rad ioac tiv e c ontamination p rob l em at s ome later d ate. "
An A E CL s p okes p erson q u oted in the W innip eg F ree Pres s on May 25, 1 984, s aid ,
" T h ey are not goin g to u s e an y rad ioac tiv e was te in here ( the UR L) . T hey may
u s e rad ioac tiv e trac ers . . . b u t th ey'd b e " c ommon ind u strial trac ers . "
Are T ec hn etiu m 99, Plu ton iu m 238 , and Americ iu m 241 , " c ommon ind u strial trac ers , "
with s h ort hal f-l iv es ?
Pl u toniu m 238 has a h alf -lif e of 86 years ,
A meric iu m 24 1, a hal f-l if e of 45 8 y ears , an d
T ec hnetiu m 99 , a half -lif e of 210 ,0 00 years!

Common in d u s trial trac ers ? Sh ort hal f -l iv es?
How wou ld the p eop l e of the eas tern Manitob a region res p ond to th is lates t es c al ation of a
nu c l ear was te res earc h p roj ec t that AE CL termed " minu s c u le" b ac k in 1 980?
In S ep temb er, 1987 , CCM d ec id ed to as k Prov inc ial E nv ironment Min is ter Gerard
Lec u yer for a fol l ow-u p meeting on Bil l 28. T he Minis ter's of f ic e ign ored rep eated attemp ts
b y CCM s p okes p ers ons to arran ge a meeting. It was not u ntil after the med ia d elu ge ov er
th e Jap an ese rad ioac tiv e trac ers exp eriment th at the Min is ter agreed to meet with CCM' s
liaison c ommittee.
T he meeting was s c hed u led f or T u es d ay, Marc h 8 , 198 8, at 4:0 0 PM, in th e Man itob a
Legisl ativ e Bu il d ing. T he Minis ter tol d CCM rep res entativ es that Gov ernment wou ld l ook
in to ou r c onc erns , an d that it was alread y s eeking more inf ormation ab ou t th e p rop os ed
u s e of p l u toniu m in the Jap anes e exp eriments in th e u nd ergrou nd tes t f ac il ity .
As th e CCM c ontingent s tarted to l eav e th e b u il d ing, they were nearl y tramp led b y a mas s
of med ia p eop l e an d their p arap hernal ia. W hat was going on?
"W hat are you d oing here?"
"O u r Liais on Committee j u s t met with Gerard Lec u yer. W hat are you d oing here?"
"Hav en 't you h eard . T h e Gov ernment was ju s t d ef eated on its b u d get b y a v ote of
non-c onf id enc e. . . "
T he Jap anes e exp eriment got l os t in the s h u f fl e!
A new Gov ernment, new Premier, new Cab inet Minis ters , a wh ole new b all game was ab ou t
to b egin. Between 19 80 and 198 8 CCM had b ec ome a s easoned and exp erien c ed grou p
d eal ing with nu c l ear an d oth er env ironmental p rob l ems .
On e CCM " worry" was the management an d op eration of th e W hites hel l Nu c l ear R es earc h
Station at Pin awa its el f.
Bu t th e main c onc ern was still th e u ltimate fate of A E CL's p rop os al f or th e p ermanen t
u nd ergrou n d b u rial of high-lev el nu c l ear was te, whic h had yet to b e d ec id ed . CCM, and
other c on c ern ed grou p s an d ind iv id u al s in Canad a and els ewhere wou l d hav e their hand s
fu ll with that is s u e al one!
T ec hn ic al l y, that was as f ar as A E CL was man d ated to go.
Bu t it wou ld b e s in gu l arl y naiv e to thin k that AE CL, or s ome fu tu re ou tgrowth of AE CL,

wou ld not b e in v olv ed in the ac tu al s elec tion and d ev el op ment of the firs t nu c lear garb age
d u mp . T he timetab l e f or ap p rov al had c on tinu ed to s lip ov er th e years , and it was d if f ic u lt
to p red ic t j u s t when the momen tou s d ec is ion wou ld b e mad e: ten or f ifteen years into the
fu tu re?
T here was no d ou b t in my min d th at it wou ld b e mad e in f av ou r of A E CL's u nd ergrou nd

b u rial " c onc ep t" an d I was 99. 99% c ertain that the d ec is ion wou l d p ermit A E CL to go

ahead with a s ite on A E CL's own 10 ,00 0 ac re res erv ation ( ou t of p rov inc ial j u ris d ic tion ) at
Pinawa, Manitob a.
E LE VE N T HIR T Y
T he titl e of the Jan u ary, 198 8 rep ort of the Can ad ian Parl iamen tary Stand ing Committee
on E nv ironment and F ores try was T h e E lev en th Hou r - High -Lev el Rad ioac tiv e W as te in
Canad a.
Ac c ord ing to the rep ort, the twelv e thou s an d f ou r hu n d red metric tonnes of s p ent f u el
s tored at Canad a's exis ting nu c lear p ower p l ants in 1987 wil l grow to f orty-two thou s and
tonnes b y th e tu rn of the c entu ry, an d to one hu n d red th ou s and tonnes b y 202 4. A s the
rep ort notes ,
" T h is takes on v ery great imp ortanc e ind eed in light of the fac t th at there is still
no p rov en method f or d is p os ing of this h igh ly rad ioac tiv e material. "
In s ome res p ec ts the Committee rep ort exc eed ed CCM's exp ec tations b y ad op ting many of
th e id eas th at we and other env ironmental grou p s had ad v an c ed d u rin g the 198 7
Committee hearings .
Bu t, the Committee d id not ac c ep t CCM's p rime rec ommen d ation that th e f l awed AE CL
u nd ergrou n d rep ository res earc h p rogram b e s c rap p ed . It d id rec ommend an in d ep end ent
s tu d y of the s oc ial , moral, ec onomic and en v ironmental c ons eq u enc es of the p rogram. It
d id n ot end orse the u nd ergrou n d is ol ation c onc ep t, b u t stated that
" the res ou rc es nec es s ary f or v erif ic ation of the Can ad ian d is p osal c onc ep t mu s t
remain ad eq u ate u ntil the c onc ep t has rec eiv ed its f in al as s es sment b y the
s c ientif ic c ommu nity, and the p u b lic at l arge has either ac c ep ted or rejec ted the
p rop os al. "
W ou l d the p u b l ic at large ev er get a c han c e to ac c ep t or rejec t AE CL's p rop osed b u rial

p l an?
I s eriou s ly d ou b ted that a v ote or ref erend u m wou ld ev er b e hel d . A ll those p u b lic op inion
p ol ls c ommis s ioned b y AE CL al read y tol d th e s tory of what the p u b lic thou ght, and it was
n ot p os i t i v e .
Prob ab l y th e mos t s ignif ic ant rec ommend ation was that a moratoriu m b e imp os ed on
nu c l ear reac tor c on stru c tion u ntil th ere is an ac c ep tab l e solu tion to the was te-d isp os al
is s u e. Presen tl y-op eratin g reac tors wil l c ontinu e to p rod u c e s o-c al l ed " his toric " nu c l ear
was te. Common s ens e d ic tates th at, at the v ery l eas t, no ad d ition al nu c l ear was te
p rod u c tion fac il ities b e c ons tru c ted , in the ab s enc e of a saf e s torage s ol u tion .
Al thou gh there was al ways tal k ab ou t the p os s ib ility of c ons tru c ting more l arge-s c al e
nu c l ear p ower reac tors in Can ad a, the p ros p ec ts f or that were next to nil, anyway . Bu t it

was nic e to hear this s tated b y a Parl iamen tary Committee.
T he Committee p res s ed for more energy c ons erv ation meas u res an d an inc reas e in the
p rop ortion of Can ad ian en ergy generated b y ren ewab l e res ou rc es as an al tern ativ e.
On e rec ommend ation th at reall y p l eased CCM was that E nv ironment Canad a s hou l d
p rep are to d ef end " th e en v ironmental s tand p oint" in the d ev el op ment of the nu c l ear was te
man agemen t p rogram. T h is was one of the main p oints I mad e to T om Mc Mil lan , F ed eral
E nv ironment Min is ter, d u ring a Sp ring, 1987 c on ferenc e of the Canad ian E nv ironmental
Network.
CCM wanted E nv ironment Canad a to take on a more p ro-ac tiv e rol e in nu c l ear matters .
T oo mu c h p ower res id ed in the hand s of the F ed eral Dep artment of E n ergy, Min es and
Res ou rc es , whic h ac tiv el y p romotes th e n u c lear in d u s try an d to s ome extent, was the
mas ter-mind of the A E CL p roj ec t.
T he Committee al so rec ommend ed that the p rov inc es th at p rod u c e nu c lear was te, O ntario,
Qu éb ec and New Bru ns wic k, sh ou l d b ear p rimary res p ons ib ility f or s toring it.
Perhap s one of the mos t refres hing rec ommend ations was that the Atomic E nergy Control
Board ( AE CB) s hou l d b e req u ired to in v ol v e the p u b lic in d ec is ions on moral and ethic al
q u es tions , and that it ( A E CB) sh ou l d c hange its c omp os ition to inc l u d e on its b oard of
d irec tors p eop l e who refl ec t the p u b lic c onc erns ov er nu c lear is s u es .
T he Committee rec ommen d ed fu rther that the Con trol Board rep ort to E nv ironment
Canad a rather than the E n ergy Dep artmen t.
F or me, the imp ortan c e of th e rec ommend ations c onc ernin g the AE CB res ted sq u arely on
th e f ac t that this regu l atory b od y c ou ld hav e a great d eal to s ay ab ou t whether or not
AE CL's u n d ergrou nd rep os itory c onc ep t wil l b ec ome a real ity.
In l ight of th e s orry his tory of high-l ev el nu c l ear was te regu l ation s is su ed b y th e A E CB

ov er the years , that is a f rightening p ros p ec t. Some p arts of th os e d oc u ments are so b ias ed
in f av ou r of the nu c l ear es tab l ish men t and A E CL's c u rren t nu c lear was te p rogram, that
th ey might as wel l h av e b een d raf ted b y AE CL p u b lic rel ations writers . ( Mayb e they were!)
T he Ju ne 5, 1 987, AE CB R egu latory Doc u ment R -1 04, is b u t one c as e in p oin t. W hil e it

d eal s with regu latory ob j ec tiv es , req u irements an d gu id elines , the d oc u ment tac itl y ac c ep ts
th e A E CL c ontention that "d is p osal " is th e p ref erred ap p roac h to d eal ing with rad ioac tiv e
was te. T he whol e regu lation th at f oll ows is b ased on that as su mp tion.
"Dis p os al " is a highly misl ead ing term, l eav ing th e p u b l ic with th e imp ress ion that
s u b s tanc es known to b e d angerou s f or eons of time hav e b een d ealt with , and are n o l onger
with u s . T h e s ad f ac t is , wh erev er thes e s u b s tan c es res id e: in the b owels of the earth, or in
s tru c tu res on its s u rf ac e, they d o not d is ap p ear, and , they remain toxic , d angerou s an d
p res ent a p otential ec ol ogic al th reat to the p l anet f or v irtu al ly al l time.
T he regu l ations d o not ref l ec t the f ac t that u ntil s c ienc e learns to ef f ec tiv el y rend er
rad ioac tiv e material s inert, thes e s u b s tanc es c an b e s tored , or b u ried , b u t nev er "d is p osed ."

Anoth er ob v iou s examp l e of b ias toward A E CL's p rogram is refl ec ted in A E CB Regu l atory
Doc u ment R -7 1: Deep Geol ogic al Dis p os al of Nu c l ear F u el W as te: Bac kgrou nd
In formation an d Regu l atory R eq u iremen ts Regard ing the Conc ep t A ss es s ment Phas e,
Jan u ary 2 9, 19 85. In it, th e regu l atory b od y ac c ep ts the notion of geol ogic al d is p os al as a
giv en . W ors e yet, it ac c ep ts the id ea of " c onc ep t as ses s ment, " or gen eric , rather than s ite
s p ec if ic res earc h.
F or examp l e, the d oc u men t s tates
" T h ere exis ts an in ternational c on s ens u s , whic h Canad a end ors es , that eff orts to
d ev elop a s afe method f or d is p os ing of nu c lear fu el was te c an b e mos t p rofitab l y
d irec ted to c onc ep ts wh ic h inv ol v e some f orm of geologic al d is p os al ."
No mention is mad e of the f ac t th at the so-c al led c on s ens u s , is l imited to a smal l grou p of
p eop l e who rep res ent the intern ational nu c l ear es tab l is hment, ( inc l u d ing th e A E CB) . No
c ons id eration is giv en to organization s and ind iv id u al s al l ov er the worl d who op p os e
geologic al d is p osal . T here is no d is c u ss ion of reas oned op p os ing v iews .
Perhap s th e mos t b latant examp le of b ias is f ou nd in AE CB R egu latory Doc u ment, R-72 :
Geol ogic al Cons id erations In Siting A Rep os itory F or U nd ergrou nd Dis p os al O f High-Lev el
Rad ioac tiv e W as te, Sep temb er 21 , 198 7.
How c ou l d any res p ons ib le " c ontrol b oard " of the Gov ern men t of Canad a p rep are
regu lations for the " s iting" of s u c h a nu c l ear was te rep os itory, years b ef ore anyone wou ld
hav e th e op p ortu nity to examine and j u d ge the u nd ergrou nd is olation op tion its elf ?
If that is n't p u ttin g the c art b ef ore the hors e, what is ? T he kind es t thing to b e s aid ab ou t
R-72 is that it emits s trong od ou rs emanating from th e en d of the hors e not attac h ed to the
c art.
R-72 is a d angerou s regu lation b ec au s e it emb rac es A E CL's generic researc h,

c onc ep t-as ses s ment ap p roac h. T he d oc u ment p romotes the id ea of a " geol ogic all y
ac c ep tab l e s ite. " T he word " ac c ep tab l e" has no b u s ines s ap p earin g in any regu lation
regard ing nu c l ear was te.
If the p rep os terou s id ea of p u tting nu c l ear waste in the roc k of the Canad ian s hiel d s h ou l d
b ec ome a reality, the p u b lic d eman d mu st b e for the b es t s ite, no matter what the c os t in
money and time, not f or an " ac c ep tab l e" s ite.
No c omp romise c an b e all owed on th is p oint.
By writing regu l ations wh ic h as s u me ac c ep tan c e of the p res en t d irec tion of the A E CL

p rogram, AE CB has eff ec tiv ely b l oc ked any meaningf u l d el ib erations ov er alternativ es .
T hu s , the s o-c al led " terms of ref eren c e" of any fu tu re p u b lic inq u iries on the s u b j ec t are
alread y heav il y s kewed in f av ou r of A E CL, as the p rop onent of the onl y op tion b ein g
c ons id ered .
W here, f or examp le, are the A E CB regu lations to c ov er alternativ es p rop os als s u c h as
lon g-term, ab ov egrou n d , on -s ite s torage, to n ame b u t one? T h is op tion, in th e mind s of

man y, is more d es irab l e than p ermanen t u nd ergrou nd emp lac ement.
W hat is mos t d is tu rb in g is that AE CB, with its p ro-A E CL b ias es c ons id ers its el f to b e th e
". . . l ead agenc y for the regu latory ev alu ation of the d is p os al c on c ep t." It maintains th at it
has the p ower, and the c ritic al anal ys is c ap ab ility to d etermine the ac c ep tab ility,
c ond ition al ac c ep tab ility, or non-ac c ep tab ility of the c onc ep t, al l the wh il e d ev elop in g
regu lations whic h, s o trans p arently, as su me the u nc ritic al ac c ep tanc e of th at one c onc ep t.
T hat is wh y the Parl iamentary Committee rec ommend ations for s ign if ic ant c han ges in th e
AE CB take on p rofou nd meaning. U nd er th e c irc u ms tan c es, th e Gov ernment of Canad a
wou ld b e c omp l etel y remis s if it d id not ov erhau l th e A E CB b ef ore the momen tou s
d ec isions on the d is p os ition of nu c lear was te are mad e.
T he time-tab le, at this writin g, al read y d elayed s ev eral times , s c h ed u l es the

d ec ision-making p roc ess f or the early 199 0's . Some s ort of Gov ern men t-s p on sored p u b l ic
hearin gs, whic h CCM has l ong s ou gh t af ter, will p res u mab ly take p lac e within th at time
frame, u n les s fu rther d el ayed .
Bu t, af ter a d ec ad e of b itter c on trov ers y, an d a rec ord of d ogmatic d etermin ation and
growing v es ted interests on th e p art of the nu c l ear es tab l is h men t to b u ry its p ois on s in th e
grou nd , what is the l ikelihood of meaningf u l p u b lic p artic ip ation in thos e c ru c ial d ec is ion
p roc es s es?
T o u s e a f amou s Canad ian s aying: b u gger al l.
Giv en the whol e b ac kgrou nd of the is s u e, meaningf u l p u b l ic p artic ip ation is not b lood y
likel y! E v en as s u ming th at the Gov ern men t of Canad a ad op ted al l the rec ommend ations in
th e E lev en th Hou r Rep ort, the c han c es f or a f u l l, op en and ob j ec tiv e hearing on A E CL's
u nd ergrou n d is ol ation c onc ep t, and all of the ramif ic ations su rrou nd ing it, are q u ite
remote.
E v en the u s e of an imp rov ed F ed eral E nv ironmental A s s ess ment Rev iew Proc es s (E AR P)
d oes not, in an d of its el f , gu arantee fair an d ob jec tiv e res u l ts . In a Janu ary, 1988 rep ort on
E A RP p roc ed u res , a s tu d y grou p u nd er the F ed eral E nv iron men tal As s es s men t R ev iew
Of f ic e ( F E AR O) , mad e a v ery imp ortant gen eral p oint ab ou t p u b l ic hearin gs and d ec is ion
making. In on e of its twel v e p rinc ip l es , the rep ort s tates :
T he p ol itic al au thority whic h initiated the p u b l ic hearing p roc es s mu s t agree to

"T
take th e c on c lu sions of the hearing into s eriou s c ons id eration in the
d ec is ion-making p roc es s . A p u b l ic hearin g is n ot a c hanc e inc id ent, a mean s of
triv ial izing or c omp artmentalizing op p os ition, or a mec hanis m f or id entify ing
res is tanc e. If th e p ers on c al led u p on to make a d ec is ion is not p rep ared to take
into c ons id eration the res u l ts of a p u b l ic hearing, if his or her mind is al read y set,
if the es s ential s h av e al read y b een d ec id ed ev en b ef ore the hearing b egin s, th e
hearing is a p oin tl es s exerc is e." ( ital ic s ad d ed ) .
T he E A RP s tu d y grou p 's c onc ern on this p oint u n d ers c ores the find ings of s oc ial s c ienc e
res earc h into p u b l ic p artic ip ation p roc es ses . On e of th e main p erv ers ions of p u b l ic
hearin gs ad d res s ed in s ome of the res earc h l iteratu re is that they are of ten h eld to giv e

legitimac y to a d ec is ion that has al read y b een mad e.
In gen eral , the researc h into p u b l ic p artic ip ation yiel d s f ew s u c c es s s tories wh ere the
p u b l ic inp u t had s ignific ant imp ac t on p ol ic y. [O ne s u c h s u c c es s f u l examp l e was the
rej ec tion of the p rop os al of E l d orad o Nu c lear Ltd . to b u il d a u raniu m ref inery n ear
W arman, Sas katc hewan. E AR P p u b l ic hearings b etween Janu ary 8 and 24, 1 980, res u lted
in a mass iv e tu rn ou t of op p os ition to the p l an.]
T he main c on c lu sion of th e res earc h is th at c itizen p artic ip ation h as not reall y worked well
at al l. On e reas on, f req u en tl y noted b y researc hers , is the s c hed u ling of h earings as l ate as
p os s ib le in the p l anning p roc es s .
T he nu c lear was te p rogram is a c l as s ic examp l e of th is . Conc eiv ed in the l ate 19 70's , th e

p u b l ic mu s t wait u n til the early 199 0s , or ev en later, af ter mil lions of taxp ay er' s d oll ars
hav e b een s p ent, b ef ore th is c ritic al is s u e wil l b e ad d res s ed in op en hearings .
Perhap s th e mos t d is c ou raging c onc l u s ion of al l, is th at there is littl e res earc h ev id enc e to
in d ic ate that any hearings hav e mu c h inf l u enc e on p ol ic y d ec is ions . O f fic ials may giv e
c u rs ory c on sid eration to, or ignore al together, c ertain v iews exp res sed in hearin gs .
Un orth od ox v iews , that d o n ot c on form with the s p ec ific and of ten n arrowly-d rawn
p arameters of the hearings , are u s u al l y d is c ou n ted .
E xp erienc e with the nu c l ear was te is s u e s u ggests th e c on c lu sion that one of the b es t ways
to av oid the p ol arization whic h su rrou nd s high ly c ontrov ers ial p rop os al s and is s u es is to
p rov id e more c itizens ' in p u t to the ac tu al p roc es s of gov ernment p ol ic y and p rogram
d ev el op ment.
T he mos t d es irab l e kind of p artic ip ation s hou ld take p l ac e b ef ore th e h ard and f as t
p rop os al s are d ev el op ed at the " p rob l em id entif ic ation s tage." T h ere, interac tion an d
d ialogu e ( at, or ev en b ef ore, th e p lann in g s tage) wou l d b e one of the most ef fec tiv e ways to
ac hiev e d esirab l e res u l ts f or al l c on c ern ed .
T his p roc es s c ou l d b e termed " antic ip atory d emoc rac y ," (an id ea exp res s ed b y f u tu ris t
Al v in T of f ler in the mid -197 0s ) b ec au s e it p ermits c ons eq u enc es of al ternativ es to b e
examined b y a rep resen tativ e sl ic e of the p u b l ic , at an ap p rop riately early s tage.
W hether or not wid e-s c ale " antic ip atory d emoc rac y" wil l ev ol v e within ou r inc reas ingl y
au toc ratic p ol itic al s ys tem remains to b e s een. Bu t there is l ittle q u es tion th at inc reas ed
gov ernment an d ind u s try c ol lab oration with p u b l ic grou p s in th e p rob lem-solv ing and
p l anning p roc es ses is highl y d es irab l e. Hop ef u l l y, this is on e l es s on th at wil l b e learned
from th e n u c lear was te c ontrov ers y.
T he F ed eral Gov ernment is c u rrently taking s tep s to imp rov e its en v iron men tal ass es s ment
p rogram. Hop efu ll y, thos e imp rov emen ts wil l in c reas e the c hanc es th at the Canad ian
Nu c lear W as te Man agemen t Program wil l b e treated as s ometh ing other th an the f ait
ac c omp li th at it ap p ears to b e.
Mu c h c ou l d b e d one to imp rov e th e meaningf u l nes s of p u b lic p artic ip ation s o that it c ou ld

b ec ome a worthwhile, eff ec tiv e tool for s hap ing p u b l ic p olic y. U ntil s u c h time, p u b l ic
in teres t grou p s hav e l ittl e rec ou rs e b u t to c ontinu e to rel y p rimaril y on lob b ying, med ia
c ov erage, and p rotes t d emon stration s , as CCM d id to p rov oke p as sage of Manitob a Bil l 28 .
Bill 28 was now l aw, th e threat of nu c l ear d u mp s in the R ed Riv er V al ley had eas ed , and
th e Parl iamen tary Committee's E l ev enth Hou r R ep ort was s itting on the Gov ernment's
d es k.
T he Conc erned Citizen s of Manitob a h ad b ec ome an ef f ec tiv e nu c l ear watc h d og grou p .

And exp erienc e s tron gly s u gges ts that if any ind u s try req u ires watc h d og grou p s , it is the
nu c l ear ind u stry. W hith er CCM?
A NE W CHAPT E R
T rip s to the E as tern T owns h ip s of Q u éb ec d u ring 19 86 and '87 res u l ted in a family
d ec ision that it was time to leav e W inn ip eg and mov e b ac k E as t. A lthou gh Phyl ,
es p ec ial l y, had d ev elop ed a real ap p rec iation f or th e wid e op en s p ac es and the b ig p rairie
s ky, we were b oth E as terners at heart.
W e d ec id ed to take earl y retiremen ts : Phyl l ef t her teac hin g j ob , and I c l os ed d own my

hu man resou rc e c on su lting b u s ines s . O u r p l ans were to write, to trav el , to see more of ou r
c hild ren, who l iv ed in O ttawa an d T oronto, to learn s omethin g of the F ren c h langu age, and
to enj oy " lif e in the s l ow l ane. "
W e s aid good b ye to W inn ip eg in th e Sp ring of 1 988 with s ome regrets , b u t with good
feel ings of ac c omp l is hments , b oth v oc ational l y an d av oc ational l y. I f el t that I had p l ayed
an imp ortant rol e in the c itizens ' mov ement whic h l ed to p as sage of Bill 2 8, Man itob a' s
high l ev el rad ioac tiv e was te l aw.
At th e v ery leas t, Man itob an s now had s ome s mall meas u re of p rotec tion again st b ec oming
th e rec ip ient of Canad a's firs t u nd ergrou nd rad ioac tiv e garb age d u mp . An d , f or the time
b eing at leas t, than ks in large meas u re to the work of CCM, neither wou l d th ere b e any U S
nu c l ear d u mp s in nearb y Min nes ota's Red Riv er Val ley .
Howev er, the is s u e of th e " c onc ep t as s es sment" p ersis ted . A E CL, with the c oll ab oration of
th e U S and Jap an, c ontin u ed to " as s es s its c onc ep t" at the W hites hell Nu c lear Res earc h
E s tab l is hment and the ad jac en t U RL at Lac d u Bonnet. Pres u mab ly, at s ome p oin t within
th e n ext ten th ou s and years , the Crown Corp oration wou l d rel eas e s ome d ef in itiv e,
s c ie n ti f ic f in d in g s .
Bu t what of the as s es sment p roc es s its elf ? W ho wou ld b e the as s ess or wh o as s es s ed th e

as ses s ment? W ou l d it b e as ses s ed b y the "Chief A s ses s or of the As s es s ment Bran c h of the
Dep artment of A ss es s ments of 'A s ses s ments Canad a!' " ? O f c ou rs e, no s u c h organization
exis ts -- at leas t, not yet. Bu t, W ho wou l d make thes e d ec is ions and W hen ?
In the ab s enc e of a s p ec if ic legis l ativ e framework f or the Can ad ian n u c l ear was te
man agemen t p rogram, the Gov ernment of Canad a and A E CL h ad tremend ou s l atitu d e to
make u p the ru l es, or to c hange them at will , b y q u iet ad min is trativ e p roc es s es; th e kind of

p roc es s es that h ard ly ev er make f ront p age news .
W ith n o s ignific ant p arliamentary d eb ate or inp u t, the ad minis trativ e ap p roac h b eing u s ed
in Canad a, h ad th e ( d es ired ?) ef f ec t of keep ing th e p u b l ic in the d ark and of f-gu ard . W hen
th is ap p roac h got c ran ked u p in the late 197 0's , a f ew alert ad v oc ac y grou p s , s u c h as
Montreal-b as ed Can ad ian Coal ition for Nu c l ear Res p ons ib il ity ( CCNR) , rais ed s ignif ic ant
c onc erns . Bu t withou t a legis lativ e hook on wh ic h to hang th eir hats , their ad monition s
and warnings were littl e more than whis p erings in a d ark room. T he nu c l ear es tab l is hment
s imp l y d id what it wanted to d o, and went ahead , relativ ely u n c hal lenged .
In s tark c ontras t, the U S h ad a Nu c l ear W aste Pol ic y A c t whic h p rov id ed State

Gov ern men ts and env ironmental grou p s with th e op p ortu nity to u nd ertake eff ec tiv e l egal
c hal lenges . As a res u l t, th e U S initiativ e, whic h was c ons id ered b y man y to b e s eriou s l y
fl awed , was c ontinu ou s ly s tymied b y its c ritic s.
Legisl ation is always ac c omp an ied b y ru l es , regu l ations and req u iremen ts . In the ab s enc e
of s p ec if ic l aw, u sing ad minis trativ e meth od s onl y, the Canad ian au thorities had no need
to inf orm the p u b l ic ab ou t the d etails of ev en ts , an d agreements , u n til l ong af ter d ec is ion s
had b een mad e. E v entu al ly, when the d ec is ion s mad e d id b ec ome kn own, ev en a
c onc erned , ac tiv el y aware p u b l ic had l ittle or no time to p l an, to c ommen t, or to reac t.
In a l etter to F ed eral E nergy Min is ter Marc el Mas s e ( Dec emb er 28, 1987 ) I rais ed sev eral
q u es tions ab ou t the p roc es s es b eing s et u p f or p u b l ic inp u t. His rep ly of M arc h 8, 1988
ref l ec ted the " ac c ou ntab l e to no s p ec if ic Ac t of Parl iamen t" natu re of the Canad ian nu c l ear
was te p rogram. He wrote
" At this time, the gov ernment's p l ans f or th e rev iew p has e of the d is p os al c on c ep t
are still b eing d ev elop ed . I hop e to b e ab le to an nou nc e the d etail s of the p roc es s
in th e n ear f u tu re . . . ( it wou ld b e an) op en -end ed p roc es s, and . . . it will
p rov id e f or f u l l p u b lic p artic ip ation an d f or fu ll exp ert and regu l atory rev iew. "
As far as I was c onc erned , "op en-end ed " was a p olite term f or s omething akin to a f l oatin g
c rap game. S ome ten years af ter the off ic ial s tart of the AE CL p roj ec t, where, an d when,
and exac tly wh at the p u b l ic as s es s ment p roc es s was to b e was s til l u n known. A d ec ad e into
th is s u p p osed ly well -c ons tru c ted p roj ec t, and , u nb el iev ab l y, the rev iew p h as e was " . . . s til l
b ei ng d ev elo p ed . "
Bu t, b ehin d th at s eemingl y low-key, " one d ay at a time" ad minis trativ e ap p roac h, I

s u rmis ed th at there was s ome v ery c aref u l ly c raf ted an d c al c u l ated p lan ning af oot, the
main ou tc ome of whic h wou l d c ertainl y as s u re that in th e en d the Canad ian p u b l ic wou l d
"get the s h aft. " A s f or my many oth er q u estions ab ou t d ates and p lac es for hearings an d
how interv ener f u n d in g wou l d b e all oc ated , thos e matters , s aid Mas s e
" . . . will b e d ef ined b y the b od y ap p ointed to c arry ou t the rev iew p roc es s . "
E v entu al l y, the Min is ter d id make a p ron ou nc ement on th e p roc es s . Initial l y, it c ame in
th e f orm of a mes s age to Lac d u Bonnet p rop erty owners v ia one of A E CL's "Dear R es id ent"
news l etters , d ated Ju ne 23 , 198 8. It inf ormed the p u b lic th at the Min is ter had rec entl y
v is ited th e u n d ergrou nd f ac il ity

" . . . to ob tain f irst-hand kn owl ed ge of the work on this p rogram."
It d id not s ay wh eth er or not the Minister went s norkeling or got his f eet wet in the d ank
hol e, b u t it wen t on to s tate that
" Mr. Mas s e annou n c ed th at he has taken the f irs t s tep in initiating an
env ironmental rev iew of n u c l ear f u el was te management is s u es , inc l u d ing a
s p ec if ic rev iew of A E CL's geologic d isp os al c onc ep t. Mr. Mas s e wil l ref er the
c on c ep t and a range of related is su es f or rev iew b y a F ed eral E nv iron men tal
A s ses s ment Rev iew Panel es tab lis hed b y Can ad a's E nv ironment Min is ter, T om
Mc Mil lan ."
As it tu rn ed ou t, this ann ou nc ement was th e p rel u d e to the Gov ernment's off ic ial res p ons e
to the rep ort of th e Parl iamentary Stand ing Committee on E nv ironment an d F ores try, T he
E l ev enth Hou r. T h e Gov ernment's res p ons e was l ittl e more th an a b rief f or maintenanc e of
th e s tatu s q u o in its nu c lear was te management p rogram. T o no one's great s u rp ris e, the
Committee's mos t s ign if ic ant rec ommend ations were rej ec ted :
there wou l d b e no moratoriu m on the c ons tru c tion of nu c l ear p ower p lan ts in Canad a,
and
the Atomic E nergy Control Board wou l d not b ec ome res p ons ib l e to E nv ironment
Canad a rath er than as it was p res entl y, to th e Dep artment of E nergy, M ines and
R es ou rc es .
In keep in g with nu c l ear es tab l ish men t l itany, th e whol e ton e of th e res p on se was to
minimize the nu c l ear waste p rob l em, and to minimize th e d if f ic u lties of a s ol u tion to that
p rob l em. It c ontained th e s ame ind ic ations of b ias in f av ou r of the AE CL c onc ep t that
p erv ad ed the regu lations of the Atomic E n ergy Control Board .
T he E l ev enth Hou r rep ort s tates th at nu c lear was te is al read y s afel y s tored and monitored
at the reac tor s ites , and that "d is p os al " in a rep ository is not at all an u rgen t matter. It
s tres s es that th e u sed f u el c an b e kep t where it is f or " . . . man y d ec ad es ."
Yet, the of fic ial gov ernmental res p ons e p romotes a s ens e of u rgenc y in the need f or gettin g
th e c on c ep t as s es s ed .
W hy? Is there a c on trad ic tion?
Of c ou rs e!
If Can ad a's rel ativ ely s mall amou nt of nu c l ear was te c an b e s afel y s tored and monitored
ab ov e grou nd f or many d ec ad es ( as s tated in T he E l ev enth Hou r rep ort) , and , as in th e
Gov ern men t's res p ons e, th e nu c lear was te p rob lem at this time is minimal , then wh y n ot
s c rap the p rimitiv e u nd ergrou nd is ol ation c on c ep t, in f av or of d oin g the nec es s ary
high-tec h res earc h into alternativ e method s and tec hniq u es to rend er the was te inert?
T he ans wer to th at q u es tion lies in the Gov ernment' s u n swerv in g c ommitment to the
p erp etu ation ( and p os sib l y, ev en the growth) of n u c lear p ower. T he u n d erlying " reas on ing"
of the resp ons e is trans p aren t. T he Gov ernment rej ec ts the moratoriu m rec ommen d ation ,
in ord er to s trengthen its c ase f or c on tinu ation of n u c l ear energy.

Howev er, the Gov ern men t knows it c annot p u s h ahead with more nu c l ear d ev elop ments
u ntil the p u b l ic is c on v in c ed that the was te p rob lem is "s ol v ed . " A p roc lamation that the
u nd ergrou n d was te is olation op tion is th e right c ou rs e to p u rs u e, is c l early the "q u ic k and
d irty" way to f ac ilitate the exp ans ion of the Gov ern men t's n u c lear agend a.
Al l that remains is to c omp l ete the alread y s el f-p roc l aimed " s u c c es s fu l" c onc ep t ass es s ment:
i. e. , u nd ertake the wind ow d res s ing of hearings , s u b mis s ion s, exp ert tes timony, etc . ,
c u l minating in a gran d an nou n c emen t that the u nd ergrou nd is ol ation c on c ep t is s af e
enou gh to p roc eed to ac tu al s ite s el ec tion .
T hat annou nc ement wil l , no d ou b t, b e foll owed u p b y a mas s iv e p u b lic rel ation s c amp aign
ab ou t th e v irtu es of the " env ironmental ly-f riend ly" nu c l ear b u rial p lan , and the ev en more
"en v iron men tal l y-f rien d l y" nu c lear p ower reac tors .
No d ou b t the Gov ernment thinks the p u b l ic then wil l b e hap p y an d c ontent in th e

"knowl ed ge" th at the was te c an b e s af ely p u t " ou t of s ight and ou t of mind " .
T he waste p rob l em wil l hav e b een " s ol v ed . " T herefore, the p u b lic , p res u mab l y, will c eas e
to worry ab ou t the exp ans ion of nu c lear p ower. Bu t, of c ou rs e, as the Minis ter's res p ons e
in d ic ates ,
" E v en when a d is p os al meth od has b een ac c ep ted , there wil l b e no u rgenc y to

d is p os e of the u s ed f u el ." (Ital ic s s u p p l ied )
As th e s ite s el ec tion p roc es s is likel y to b ec ome a mu c h more d if f ic u lt p u b l ic rel ations

"s el l ," and , in the ab s enc e of any real u rgenc y to get rid of th e rad ioac tiv e wastes , the
p res ent arrangement of on-s ite s torage wil l d ou b tl es s c ontinu e throu gh the antic ip ated
s ite-sel ec tion p roc ess , u ntil th ere is d ec l ared a " l u c ky winner" for the f irst d u mp .
T hen , at the ap p rop riate time, th e Gov ernment will giv e its b l es sing to the rep roc es s in g of
nu c l ear was te. T o q u ote the Gov ernment res p ons e,
" Moreov er, it is exp ec ted that rep roc es s ing will not b e ec on omic al ly j u s tif ied for
at leas t s ev eral d ec ad es ( italic s s u p p l ied ). Dec is ions on rep roc es s ing will b e mad e
b y the p rov inc ial elec tric al u til ities who are the owners of th e u sed f u el , s u b jec t
to ov erall Canad ian p ol ic y."
T he word in g and the timing strongl y s u gges t that the rep roc es s in g p l ant wou ld l ikel y b e
b u ilt at the s ame time as the was te d u mp . Logic s u gges ts , ( althou gh nu c l ear matters s eem
rarel y to b e l ogic al !), th at b oth wou l d b e b u il t in the same p l ac e.
So mu c h for the p ower of " T h e E lev en th Hou r" rep ort! T he s ad fac t is , that on " th ings
nu c l ear," su c h as f ood irrad iation an d h igh -l ev el rad ioac tiv e waste, the b attin g av erage of
ac c ep tanc e b y th e Gov ernment of rep orts s u b mitted b y F ed eral Parliamentary Committees
ran ges f rom b ad to wors e.
Canad ian Gov ernment p olic y is s til l rooted in an irrational , d ogmatic b el ief that it mu s t
c ontin u e to p rop u p an exp en siv e, d yin g n u c lear in d u s try. T h e c h arad e of p u b l ic
p artic ip ation wil l remain b asic al ly wind ow-d res s in g f or al read y p re-d etermined p ol itic al --

in d u s trial d ec is ions .
AE CL's Ju ne 23 , 198 8 " Dear R es id ent" ep is tl e als o d eal t with another maj or is s u e: the f ate
of the agreemen t b etween the Crown Corp oration and th e U S Dep artment of E nergy
( DO E ) to extend the Lac d u Bon net s haf t to f ou r hu nd red twen ty metres .
Ob s erv ers , s u c h as mys elf , remain ed c ertain that DOE wou l d not l eav e their f av ou rite
nu c l ear was te roc ky p riv y at Lac d u Bonn et, Manitob a, s imp l y b ec au s e the U S Congres s
and the Pres id ent of the U nited States d ec id ed to s hel v e the c rys tall in e roc k rep os itory
p rogram, as p rov id ed in th e A meric an Nu c lear W as te Polic y Amend ments Ac t of 19 87.
A little item su c h a c han ge of law wou l d s u rely not s top b u reau c rats and tec hnoc rats from
maintaining their p os itions , s tatu s , and s al aries in the styl e to whic h they had b ec ome
ac c u s tomed . A s imp le c hange in the terms of ref erenc e wou l d d o the tric k!
Pred ic tab ly, AE CL and DOE h ad torn u p their ol d agreemen t and written a new on e whic h
wou ld p ermit c ontinu ation of the sh aft-d eep en ing at Lac d u Bonnet. A c c ord ing to the Ju ne
23, " Dear R es id ent" mes sage,
" U nd er th e new agreement, A E CL will p rov id e inf ormation that wil l d irec tly
s u p p ort DO E 's ef forts at the Yu c c a Mou ntain s ite. "
Pres to! Chan ge-o!
Nev er min d that the roc k in th e hole at Lac d u Bonnet is Camb rian Shield granite:
( " . . . a granu l ar igneou s roc k. . . [ wh ere 'igneou s' is d ef ined as p rod u c ed u nd er

intens e heat. . . or roc ks c ry stal lized f rom molten magma]" )
whil e the roc k formation of Yu c c a Mou ntain, Nev ad a is v olc an ic tu f f:
( " . . . a f ragmen tal roc k c on s is tin g of the s mal ler kin d s of v ol c anic d etritu s . . . ")
Ran d om Hou se U nab rid ged Dic tionary.
T he nu c lear garb age men need onl y p reten d th at it is the exac t s ame s tu f f an d they c an
ju st " keep on 'troc kin g!'" It is wond erf u l ind eed , to real ize how fl exib le nu c lear was te
res earc h ( and roc ks !) c an b e.
"Don 't W as te Nev ad a!" was the in sc rip tion of a b u mp er s tic ker on c ars in that s tate when
Phyl and I v is ited there in 198 7 to l end s ome moral s u p p ort to thos e f igh ting the d u mp
p l an. How many c itizens , and of f ic ial s of the State of Nev ad a, who s trongl y op p os e su c h a
fac il ity in their mid s t, b ec ame aware of this d ev el op ment remains u nknown. Bu t, now th e
Canad ian nu c lear au thorities were ac tiv ely and op enly tryin g to hel p th e DO E "W as te"
Nev ad a!
If the Yu c c a Mou ntain p rojec t d oes not d ev elop ac c ord ing to p lan , wh ic h c ou ld hap p en for
any nu mb er of reas ons , inc l u d ing extreme op p os ition on the p art of th e State Gov ern men t
its el f, th e entire U S high-lev el nu c l ear waste p rogram c ou l d d is s olv e into c omp lete c haos .

T hen , DOE , with its lon g-es tab l is h ed rel ation sh ip with AE CL at Lac d u Bonn et, wou l d b e
in an exc el len t p os ition to p romote an id ea exp res s ed ( and hop ed for?) b y s ome Canad ian
au thorities -- that Canad a wou l d th en b ec ome the worl d 's f irs t n u c lear garb age d u mp !
Bu t, s o mu c h f or p rognostic ation and s c enario b u ild ing! Phyl and I d ec id ed to take u p a

new l if e in the E as tern T owns hip s of Q u éb ec , while the intrep id b and of CCM s tal warts in
Manitob a wou l d c ontinu e to watc h d og AE CL's ac tiv ities .
So mu c h had hap p en ed sinc e Getting th e Sh aft was f irs t p u b l is hed in 1984 , onc e s ettl ed , I
p l anned to write th is s eq u el .
Phyl , who, in the earl y 1980 's , had u rged me to write Getting the S haf t, was again
s u p p ortiv e of my ef f orts . (Perh ap s to keep me ou t trou b l e --- as s h e is f ond of s ayin g,
"writing su re b eats steal in g h u b c ap s !" ) [ W h at' s a hu b c ap ? F or thos e of you nger
generations , you c an see hu b c ap s at you r neares t v intage au tomob il e mu seu m. T hey are
th os e rou n d th ings s tic king ou t from th e c enter of the wheel s on th e c ars , known in
mod ern p arl anc e as " wheel c ov ers . "]
So far as n u c lear was te was c onc erned , I wou ld no l onger b e immers ed in th e heat of the
ac tion. T he Prov inc e of Q u éb ec had n ev er b een ru l ed ou t as a p otential Canad ian nu c lear
was te d u mp site, b u t f or a v ariety of reas ons , inc l u d ing p ol itic s as wel l as tran sp ortation, I
fou nd it v ery hard to imagine any s u c h ou tc ome.
Howev er, not wis hing to ac q u ire a " nu c lear free head , " I p lan ned to c on tinu e to monitor
th e was te is su e, ( es p ec iall y in the US an d Canad a) , and to p rep are f or and p artic ip ate in
th e u p c omin g F ed eral E nv ironmental A s ses s ment Rev iew Proc es s ( E AR P) of AE CL's d u mp
c onc ep t p rop os al . W h eth er or n ot I wou l d mis s th e d irec t inv ol v ement as an " ac tiv e"
ac tiv is t, remained to b e s een. Bu t, what I env is ion ed was a q u iet retiremen t l if es tyle in the
E as tern T own s hip s , c ond u c iv e to th inking and writin g.
By 198 7, a nu mb er of env ironmental and an ti-nu c l ear grou p s ac ros s Canad a had el ev ated
th e emergin g h igh-l ev el nu c lear was te is s u e to v ery high p riority. T hey b egan d ev oting
more of their res ou rc es to it. T h e 19 86 Nu c lear W as te Is s u es Con ferenc e in W in nip eg h ad
c ontrib u ted greatly to th at growing ef fort.
Ov er the years CCM had rec eiv ed v ery wel c ome an d need ed s u p p ort f rom s u c h
wel l-es tab l is hed grou p s as th e Canad ian Coal ition f or Nu c l ear R es p ons ib ility, E n ergy
Prob e, Nu c l ear A warenes s Projec t, an d oth er organization s whic h were p art of the
Canad ian E nv iron men tal Network, as an en ergy c au c u s. Al l thes e grou p s , al ong with CCM ,
were now gearin g u p f or th e u p c omin g F ed eral "E AR P" of A E CL's c onc ep t.
Ab s u rd thou gh it s eemed , th e Canad ian Gov ern men t was ab ou t to l au n c h an

"en v iron men tal ass es s ment" of an id ea( !) , whic h , of c ou rse, had no " env iron men t" of its
own , u nl es s on e c on s id ered the p ap er on whic h the c onc ep t was p rinted . Howev er, this
p arad ox s eemed s omehow f itting, in l ight of the b izarre his tory of th e Canad ian nu c l ear
was te p rogram.
In what n ow s eems to hav e b ec ome a nev er-end ing s aga, a n ew c hap ter in the Canad ian
high-l ev el n u c l ear was te c ontrov ersy was ab ou t to b e written.

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The Great Canadian Nuclear Waste Saga-Volume Two: 1984-1988

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The Great Canadian Nuclear Waste Saga-Volume Two: 1984-1988

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INTRODUCTION .../Walt/My Documents/GCNWS web Files/omni2.

Ab ou t 14 0 kil ometers Northeas t of W inn ip eg, Manitob a, Canad a, in the Ru ral

A large s egmen t of th e Canad ian p u b l ic is n ot enamored with th e id ea of h av in g thes e

Page 1 of 86 Thursday, February 15, 2007 13:53:27

T he more they know, the l ess they like it!

I hav e b een u n ab l e to d etermine th e total amou n t of mon ey A E CL sp ent ov er the years on

A f ew AE CL b oos ters d id what they c ou l d to try to d is c red it it, b u t that d id n ot s top it

Howev er, b u rn ou t or no b u rnou t, rath er than rev is e it, I f inal l y d ec id ed to write a

E v entu al l y, in th e ab s en c e of a Canad ian c ommitment to d o a s eriou s , in-d ep th s earc h f or

W al ter Rob b ins , 199 8

F oreward :W hat's Going O n?

Page 3 of 86 Thursday, February 15, 2007 13:53:27

"I' ll s en d y ou a c op y of the n ews artic le, W al t. "

A s it s tand s , the A E CL c on c ep t f or d eep geologic al d is p osal has n ot b een

Page 4 of 86 Thursday, February 15, 2007 13:53:27

W hy wou l d the Pinawa Cou nc il , and not AE CL its el f , make s u c h a req u es t? I s u s p ec t

A week or so earl ier, George h ad c al l ed me with another j u ic y item -- this time ab ou t

" O n F eb ru ary 18, 1 998 two of f ic ials of O ntario Hyd ro Nu c l ear W as te

Page 5 of 86 Thursday, February 15, 2007 13:53:27

E v erything th ey s aid ab ou t th e au tob ahns in W est Germany was tru e. W e d rov e at

Page 6 of 86 Thursday, February 15, 2007 13:53:27

" . . . Manitob a will h av e a ( nu c l ear) f u tu re p otential at l eas t eq u al to that whic h

T he ed itorial may yet tu rn ou t to b e right, if , as I s u s p ec t, Manitob a wil l s omed ay b ec ome

" . . . b el iev es the p rop os ed lab is j u s t a c ov er u p f or a nu c l ear was te d u mp and

T he 19 84 Cou nc il c hanged in memb ers hip , an d it l ooked as if one or two of the n ew

Page 9 of 86 Thursday, February 15, 2007 13:53:28

" . . . ( that) h e wou l d rec ommend tu rning northern Canad a, in c lu d in g p arts of

" . . . a mov e on the p art of M anitob a to p rohib it the storage or d is p os al of s u c h

nu c l ear garb age d u mp s ite.

Of c ou rs e, the CCC was p l eas ed b y the 19 84 p ol ic y p os ition s of th e two main p ol itic al

" . . . if Manitob a is th e b es t loc ation f or s toring it, ( nu c l ear waste) th en we will b e

Kov n ats wen t on to state th at s u c h a d ec is ion wou ld d ep end on AE CL Pinawa's final

T he s ame Lead er of th e O p p os ition, Gary F il mon, who in Ju l y, 19 84 wrote th at his p arty

Page 11 of 86 Thursday, February 15, 2007 13:53:28

In 1 983-84, d u ring its d old ru ms , the CCC s aw an op p ortu nity to try to l ob b y f or a

"Hap p y New Year, George! Here we go again. "

On Janu ary 19 , 198 5, T he W in nip eg F ree Pres s h ead l ine read

p rop os al was mad e b y an agen c y of the U . S. Dep artment of E nergy ( DO E ), th e

So, n ow the Yanks were c oming in f u l l f orc e. I c ou l d al mos t hear the b u gl e c al ls ! T he

T he meeting of th e new grou p at W es tmin ster Un ited Ch u rc h, W inn ip eg, on Marc h 1 9,

Du ring the formativ e meetings , th e grou p d ec id ed to p u t th e d ev elop men t of a Green Party

T he grou p d id not hes itate to ad op t the nu c l ear waste is s u e as its n u mb er on e p riority. It

wel l as tec h nic al as p ec ts. It was a gl ob al is s u e wh ic h c ou ld b e ad d res s ed loc all y. It h ad

Page 15 of 86 Thursday, February 15, 2007 13:53:28

th in gs nu c lear was a c on stant s ou rc e of f ru s tration.

T he q u estions p os ed to b oth gov ern men ts were b as ic al l y the s ame:

E v entu al l y, E M R gav e u s 64 d oc u ments , many of whic h were al read y known to u s , s u c h as

Page 16 of 86 Thursday, February 15, 2007 13:53:29

" . .. s u b s tantial l y h arm AE CL' s c omp etitiv e p os ition and c ou ld c au s e inju ry to th e

c of fee at the b ake s hop ? O r d id they ju st s id le u p b es id e inn oc ent gu es ts , an d sn oop ?)

In h is Jan u ary 3 0, 19 85 letter to u s , then Legal Aid attorney Lawrie Cherniac k ad v is ed th at

W as th e U . S. p l anning to d o an y of its own res earc h on th e l eas ed Crown l and ? It was

" W h en a f ac il ity is req u ired , it will b e the s u b j ec t of negotiations b etween f ed eral

th e p res enc e of th e med ia) , the meeting final ly got u nd erway.

" Bec au se it is a F ed eral p roc es s and AE CL op erates u nd er F ed eral j u ris d ic tion,

the timing f or AE CL to rev eal to this Dep artmen t the s p ec if ic s of its p l an is at

If ou r own gov ernment c ou l d not get th is in formation ab ou t U . S. p lans in M anitob a, at

On tario, where A E CL kep t ins is ting the ac tu al rep os itory wou ld b e b u il t.

Af ter s ev eral f ru itl es s attemp ts to get a meeting with U s kiw, we d ec id ed to s ee Premier

" It was s o th in that you c ou l d read a p ol itic ian throu gh it."

" . . . 'not now ( b eing c ons id ered ) . . . is n ot intend ed as a b lanket gu arantee' b u t

T here is no d ou b t in my mind th at the news of the ongoing negotiation s b etween the U .S .

T he network of c onc erned p eop le on b oth s id es of th e Canad a - U S b ord er was d es tined to