Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe testifies on Nuclear Waste Governance

By Anishinabek Nation Political Office Staff

ANISHINABEK NATION TERRITORY— On February 15, Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe provided a witness testimony to the Members of Parliament for the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.

Accepting an invitation from Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare, who could not attend due to prior commitments, Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe appreciated the opportunity to testify on behalf of the Chiefs of Ontario to ensure that a First Nation perspective was included as Canada moves towards developing governance on nuclear waste. He emphasized the importance of respecting Indigenous rights in the development of the nuclear industry and its impacts on First Nations in Ontario, throughout the allotted five-minute testimony.

Both the Chiefs of Ontario and the Anishinabek Nation have existing mandates, passed through resolutions by the Chiefs-in-Assembly over recent years to ensure environmental and water protection measures are continual priorities, including direction on the travelling and storage of nuclear waste throughout our territories. The mandates align how leadership advocate on behalf of our communities and confirm that government is required to provide the resources needed for the work communities want to progress in regards to their own self-determined efforts.

In his testimony, Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe wanted to iterate the importance of our inherent rights and responsibilities by stating, “I want to impress upon everyone that it is our inherent responsibility as Anishinaabe to protect Mother Earth; not just for us, but for all living beings who live upon it. We hold the Government of Canada to account to respect the rights of First Nations, including all 133 in Ontario. No decisions concerning Nuclear Waste Storage, the development of Small Modular Reactors, Transportation, or Decommissioning can be made absent our Free, Prior, and Informed Consent.”

The testimony also emphasized the Joint Declaration between the Anishinaabek Nation and the Iroquois Caucus on the Transport and Abandonment of Radioactive Waste. The joint declaration focuses on five (5) principles of Nuclear Waste management agreed upon by the Grand Council Assembly and the Iroquois Caucus: 1) there should be no abandonment of waste; 2) containers should be strong and adaptable; 3) waste should be monitored and retrievable; 4) waste should be away from major water bodies; and 5) imports and exports should be forbidden save the most exceptional cases.

“Previous witnesses testified about how and in what way Indigenous communities need to be engaged. None of those individuals were Indigenous or represented by Indigenous communities. This is the root of the problem, these processes cannot move forward without full and deep engagement,” asserted Grand Council Chief Niganobe in response to being questioned about the adequacy of consultation with Indigenous communities.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization must respect Indigenous legal traditions and co-develop effective consultation methods.

Any development in the nuclear industry must involve Indigenous rights holders during the decision-making processes. How the Anishinaabe have been able to safeguard lands and resources for thousands of years is critical to the conversation about the perpetual stewardship of nuclear waste. Anishinaabe oral histories relate to the movement of water systems; the changes in placements of rivers or ponds are part of Anishinaabe knowledge systems. This information will be critical to the long-term maintenance of nuclear waste, which is very dangerous, especially when introduced to the water. Indigenous methods of scientific inquiry differ from Western methodologies because they are inclusionary of holistic concepts, not just impartial theory. These people-based systems will be critical as society transitions to a Net-Zero emissions by 2050.

The complete meeting, including where Grand Council Chief begins testimony at the 12:45pm timestamp, is available via ParlVu House of Commons website.