Don’t Let the Trudeau Government Make The Same Mistake Again!
A Call-Out from the Ontario Clean Air Coalition, a not-for-profit, non-partisan citizens group in Ontario
Posted January 29th, 2021 on Niagara At Large
The Canadian government has made a number of disastrous bets on nuclear energy in the past, wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on reactors that don’t work (the infamous Maple nuclear project) and ones that no one wants (Advanced Candu).
Now the government is under pressure from the nuclear industry to fund “small” nuclear reactors that they think can help them deal with the rapidly declining global interest in nuclear power.
The problem is that these “small” reactors are just paper concepts, they have all the same waste and security risks of large reactors (and fact, could make the waste problem even worse), and they promise to produce power that will cost 2 to 5 times [https://www.cleanairalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GTA-Reactor-Fact-Sheet-2.pdf] more than power from renewable sources like solar and wind.
They’ve found a booster in federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan who has also been keen to spend money on oil pipelines and other energy albatross projects.
We’re hoping that Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will bring a clearer eye to the risks of wasting money on an energy proposal that is not ready, too expensive and too slow to help us deal with our rapidly accelerating climate crisis.
Read our factsheet here. [https://www.cleanairalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GTA-Reactor-Fact-Sheet-2.pdf]
With the federal budget already under enormous stress from the COVID crisis, why would the federal government want to waste more money on nuclear when renewable solutions are exploding in popularity worldwide thanks to ever better technology and lower costs? Betting on nuclear would be like, well, buying a pipeline that is about to have its construction permits cancelled.
The Trudeau government says it’s serious about meeting Canada’s obligations under the Paris Climate Accord. Wasting money on dangerous distractions won’t get us there.
What you can do
Please send a message to Minister Freeland here urging her to back ready-to-roll renewable solutions, not costly nuclear [https://www.cleanairalliance.org/no-nuclear-subsidies/].
Tell Minister Freeland – no nuclear subsidies! [https://www.cleanairalliance.org/no-nuclear-subsidies/]
Thank you!
Angela Bischoff, Director, Ontario Clean Air Alliance
P.S. See our new Freeland leaflet [https://www.cleanairalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GTA-Reactor-Freeland-Pamphlet-jan-11-v_02.pdf] here and order free copies here [https://www.cleanairalliance.org/get-involved/order-pamphlets/].
About the Ontario Clean Air Alliance – The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is a coalition of over 90 organizations that represent more than six million Ontarians. We led the successful campaign to phase-out Ontario’s five dirty coal-fired power plants. We are now working to move Ontario towards a 100% renewable electricity future through an integrated combination of energy conservation and efficiency, water power imports from Quebec and cost-effective Made-in-Ontario green energy.
For more information on the Ontario Clean Air Alliance and its citizen advocacy work, click on – http://www.cleanairalliance.org/ .
NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.
“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders
Niagara At Large 
This is a simplistic, one-sided opinion. The switch from current power producing natural elements – coal, oil, nuclear – will not happen in a short life-time. It is NOT a political question relating to workers in the oil and coal industry These workers will have to be recycled, retrained and made proficient in the so-called new energy fields : hydro, wind, solar and, yes, nuclear power. Nuclear would be a lot safer if all the science were allowed to come into play, whether it be mining, refining, using and disposing of spent fuel. The nuclear industry, all its components, know well how to deal with all those needs, but it must be encouraged to find better solutions and be well regulated which, to a great extent, it already is.
LikeLike