LA RONGE, Sask. – The Committee for Future Generations is set to oppose any renewal of Cameco uranium operations in northern Saskatchewan.
This comes one day after the Sierra Club said it is opposing Cameco’s relicensing over pollution concerns.
“The world is waking up to the fact that this is a failed industry, environmentally and economically,” said Debbie Mihalicz, co-founder of the Committee for Future Generations.
“Every day that one of Cameco’s uranium mines is in operation, an even greater volume of extremely hazardous nuclear waste is created that will remain radioactive for a million years.
“It’s time to put a stop to the destruction of the lands and waters we call home.”
The group is one of several interveners scheduled to appear at hearings starting today on Cameco’s application to renew its licences at Key Lake, McArthur River and Rabbit Lake.
“Cameco’s operations – and the licensing and relicensing processes themselves – are taking place within a larger context of Canadian settler-colonialism, exploitative resource extraction, and dispossession of Indigenous territory,” said Kirstin Scansen, a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band.
The group will also oppose submissions from First Nations who have signed agreements recently with Cameco and Areva to support existing operations.
On Monday, the Sierra Club said Cameco is understating the amount of pollution coming from its facilities.
Cameco says the Sierra Club is creating a “false impression of our environmental performance” and its numbers don’t add up.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission hearings into relicensing are being held in La Ronge over the next three days.
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