Posted: September 17, 2021
Election issues and the Ottawa River watershed
With the federal election looming, we thought it would be a good time to share Ottawa Riverkeeper's main areas of concern, to inspire you when considering who to vote for.
Multilateral cooperation is one of the most important areas where Ottawa Riverkeeper sees room for improvement. Our watershed spans two provinces, hosts our federal government, it is the traditional territory of many indigenous communities, and contains hundreds of municipalities. To best protect the Ottawa River and its watershed, proper channels of communication and cooperation must be established. Ask your candidates where they stand on the creation of bodies to address cross-boundary challenges in the watershed.
Climate change is a massive threat to the health of the watershed. As the watershed’s climate is altered, new challenges will emerge and existing issues will likely worsen. We have been tracking changes throughout our watershed, and urgent action is needed to tackle the issue. Research your candidate’s positions on climate change and how they plan to deal with the issue in meaningful ways.
Nuclear waste remains one of the biggest points of concern for the health of the river. The nuclear waste at Chalk River, both on site presently or planned to be stored, are hazardous to our river. We have been asking the government to put in place stronger rules to govern nuclear waste disposal, especially the poorly regulated low and medium level waste. Read our recommendations for a new policy, and see where your candidate stands on the issue.
Consider as well how these issues interplay. One readily proposed methodology for dealing with climate change is to increase our use of nuclear power, through Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) or other means. If Canada is going to go down this route, it is more crucial than ever that the Canadian Government adopt a strong policy on how to manage nuclear waste. Although the government claims that SMRs produce “minimal waste”, how can we justify stepping up our production and use of nuclear power generation without even having a plan in place to deal with the waste we already have? And how can we properly manage these issues across all levels of government?
When you cast your vote on September 20th, please keep the health of our river, our watershed, and Canada’s water in mind!
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