Posted: March 17, 2022

A Disappointing Result: Canada’s Draft Radioactive Waste Policy

After many months of waiting for the results of the public consultation from Natural Resources Canada on a new Radioactive Waste Policy for Canada, a draft of the new policy has been released for public comments. The result is… disappointing.

In 2020, Ottawa Riverkeeper launched a campaign requesting that the Government of Canada review and update its out of date and sorely lacking Radioactive Waste Policy, to bring it into line with international standards and better lay out clear and adequate rules to manage non-fuel nuclear waste. Many of you responded enthusiastically, and made the campaign incredibly successful. We were not alone in requesting a stronger radioactive waste policy, with many other advocacy organisations and community groups echoing and reinforcing this call with their own campaigns. 

Shortly after this campaign, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) launched a consultation process that began on November 16th 2020, and ended after a second round of comments on May 14th 2021. As part of the consultation process, Ottawa Riverkeeper put in a formal submission, including 15 recommendations for the new policy. Our primary request, and it seems the recommendations of many participants in the engagement process, was for greater clarity and definitive rules and policies in place to manage this waste. We are therefore severely disappointed by what we received instead. 

In one example, the engagement process report (titled What We Heard: Modernizing Canada’s Policy for Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning) outlines on page 17 that “We heard that the policy should be as clear as possible about the objectives that it aims to achieve, not just principles or process.” And yet, the policy actually defines itself as such: “This draft Policy for Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning comprises a set of policy principles for radioactive waste management and decommissioning that will guide the federal government’s direction.“ This is clearly not what Canadians engaged with this issue asked for, regardless of where they stand on the issue of the nuclear industry. 

In another example, there was a clearly expressed desire presented in the engagement process report for a definitive schedule and mechanism for regular reviews of the policy. For example, again on page 17, it says: “We heard suggestions that the policy should include specific provisions for policy evaluation and information sharing. It was noted that the current policy has been in place for over two decades, but does not provide guidance on when or how to evaluate its effectiveness. It would therefore be helpful for a modernized policy to provide clarity on policy goals, and some means by which the achievement of those goals will be evaluated.” Regrettably, this is not clearly outlined in the Draft Policy. While there is mention that “the federal government would review its Policy for Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning as appropriate”, there is no schedule or process outlined to define what exactly “as appropriate” is meant to represent. Is this every few years? Every decade? Or only when NRCan decides there has been a shift in the industry, such as new technology developed or new research concluded? Can the public petition for a review? No answers are given. 

With no clear objectives, timelines, or proposals on how transparency, consultation, and oversight will be completed we are left wondering how this Draft Policy will provide the clarity that people are looking for from this regulator. There is great urgency for putting strong policies for radioactive waste in place. As this policy is being developed, projects continue to be reviewed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) using the existing regulations. This was the case during the first round of hearings for the Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) being proposed as a solution to the low level waste currently at the Chalk River site. Projects like these are controversial in part because they are relying on old policy frameworks that Canadians clearly want updated. 

You can read the draft Policy for Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning here, and find out more for yourself by visiting NRCan’s portal for this process. NRCan is currently accepting comments on the Draft Policy until April 2, 2022. You can submit comments by email by following the process outlined here. Ottawa Riverkeeper is preparing its own formal comments as part of this review, which we will publish on our website once complete. 

Update (April 4th 2022): Our official comments were submitted on April 1st, and can now be viewed on our website.

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