What we heard on implementing Canada’s plan

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Engaging with Canadians and Indigenous peoples is foundational to all our work. That is why we publish an annual report outlining what we heard through ongoing dialogue and engagement with Canadians, Indigenous peoples, organizations in the remaining siting areas and the broader public. This section summarizes those reports during the 2020-22 period.

These reports have sparked adjustments to Canada’s plan to reflect the priorities of Canadians and Indigenous peoples. Year to year, the overarching themes remain similar. These topics include:

Safety;
Transportation of used nuclear fuel;
Canada’s plan and the site selection process;
Reconciliation and Indigenous Knowledge; and
Partnership and willingness.

Through our engagement efforts, people in the siting areas have developed a deeper understanding of the project. The feedback we receive at meetings, at public events and by correspondence helps us understand what is important to communities in the potential siting areas and to a wider range of audiences. We also use social media, digital surveys and virtual open houses to understand people’s concerns and questions. This creates opportunities for more informed conversations and for the NWMO to select topics to engage on that are relevant to the siting areas.

Community engagement informs all our work. We are committed to sharing our knowledge, learning together and addressing concerns as they arise.

Safety

Our highest priority is protecting people and the environment for generations to come. Over the past three years, the NWMO has continued to hear that safety in all forms is the most common concern across all regions.

The NWMO’s environment program is based on a continuous learning model that adapts through the project’s life to address the questions and concerns of the community co-designers as they progress through the different phases of the project. Through the environmental baseline monitoring program, the NWMO has identified community concerns around the potential impacts of Canada’s plan.

Through 2020, the remaining potential host communities were able to help shape a deeper understanding of their local environmental conditions by getting involved in biodiversity impact studies. We heard that the future environmental impact of settlement brought on by the project is already on the minds of citizens.

Community workshops kicked off the design phase of the environmental baseline monitoring program. Initial input received from these workshops ranged from what should be monitored, to who should be involved and how information should be shared. It was also noted that experts should lead the design.

Based on the input we received, we are currently working with various stakeholders and rights holders on incorporating Indigenous ceremony, implementing quarterly program updates, creating opportunities for community oversight, identifying training and educational opportunities, and working with local organizations to independently collect data. Examples of community-led local data collection include the data collected by the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority and the Township of Ignace.

Many events and meetings were held virtually for much of 2020 and into 2021, allowing people to participate in site selection activities despite the public health restrictions. When it was safe to do so, repository safety experts and other specialists began working out of community offices to better engage residents eager to have their questions immediately answered by the NWMO’s specialists. We know we build trust by being available for routine interaction with residents near borehole drilling sites, municipal and regional officials, and members of local civil society. We are also aware of the need to share information based on science to demonstrate the long-term safety of hosting the repository.

Community feedback regularly inspires new areas of study. For example, in 2021, we began working with residents in northwestern Ontario to launch a community-based biodiversity program to test the baseline chemistry of various plants and animals. In southern Ontario, we partnered with the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority to launch a joint program to conduct surface water and hydrology studies on behalf of the NWMO.

Water and the environment

Water safety is a commonly discussed theme in many conversations about Canada’s
plan. We often hear in both siting areas about the value of protecting water. For example, residents asked that we establish a drinking water supply monitoring program and perform a study of water cycles. We initiated both as part of our environmental baseline monitoring program.

In response to information about our multiple-barrier system, we often hear interest in learning about the behaviour of water at depths below 500 metres and how it can be studied. We continue to hear about the importance of maintaining clean, safe water above and below ground, at whichever site is selected for a deep geological repository.

We have also heard from Indigenous peoples about their sacred relationship with water and its role in the lives of animals, people and communities. The NWMO is committed to aligning with Indigenous Knowledge in our work, and we continue to learn from traditional teachings through the Knowledge Holders participating in the project.

In 2021, the Safety and Technical Research team continued to improve our understanding of Indigenous Knowledge, including conducting an Indigenous Knowledge and western science workshop on the subject of water. As work progresses, the team will seek input from Indigenous peoples on our safety assessments, including considering local lifestyles representative of the communities in the potential siting areas.

Our commitment to protecting water and responding to people’s concerns led to several other essential work streams. For example, in February 2021, our Geoscience team and a contractor completed pre-drilling water sampling and testing at the potential repository site in South Bruce. In response to feedback from the community, we expanded private water well testing to include more wells.

Transportation of used nuclear fuel

Planning for the safe and secure transportation of used nuclear fuel is an important component of Canada’s plan. Even though transportation is not expected to begin before 2040, it is an area of interest for communities, interested individuals and groups. To date, the NWMO has engaged thousands of Canadians and Indigenous peoples to hear their comments, questions and concerns, and to provide information on transportation-related topics.

In 2020, we released and sought feedback on a draft transportation planning framework to continue the dialogue, which was then updated in 2021 based on the feedback we received. The draft framework was based on engagement between 2016 and 2019.

The response to the draft framework was generally positive. We heard that overall, the document reflected people’s priorities and values. People also gave the NWMO valuable insights into how the document could be enhanced, and what they are interested in learning more about as we move through the collaborative planning process. In 2021, the NWMO published What we heard about the draft transportation planning framework, a summary of the results from engagement on the draft transportation planning framework.

We use two planning documents to continue to address the wide range of priorities, questions and concerns heard to date about the transportation of used nuclear fuel:

Moving forward together: Planning framework for the transportation of used nuclear fuel sets out objectives, priorities and considerations for transporting used nuclear fuel, informed by public feedback on an initial draft released in August 2020.
The Preliminary transportation plan provides an overview of the technical approaches, regulatory requirements and planning assumptions that the NWMO will build on to ensure safe and secure transportation that protects people and the environment.

The NWMO’s transportation approach will be subject to ongoing review and public reporting. The NWMO will review and revise the transportation planning framework every three years. These evolutions will consider updates based on factors such as evolving best practices, new technologies, ongoing adaptation and continuous improvement.

Canada’s plan and the site selection process

The two remaining siting areas have been engaged in a variety of site selection activities over the past three years. These range from collaborating in environmental, social and economic studies, to involvement in the planning and undertaking of technical studies like the borehole drilling program that began in 2017 and concluded in 2022.

During our engagement work in the lead up to borehole drilling, people expressed interest in the potential environmental, social, economic and cultural effects of borehole drilling. For example, we heard about the importance of protecting fish and wildlife habitats and preventing environmental contamination. In response, we established baseline monitoring of fish and wildlife habitats, and also collected samples of soil, well water and surface water to ensure we could monitor any impacts from the borehole drilling.

Additionally, some people who use the land near boreholes asked questions about how we would manage drilling activities so that these did not interfere with hunting, fishing and trapping activities. Once borehole drilling began, many people expressed interest in learning about the drilling results and sought regular updates on the status of the boreholes.

In the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON)-South Bruce area, we have heard a range of perceptions about the likely potential impacts of Canada’s plan on neighbouring property values. In response to these concerns, the NWMO and the Municipality of South Bruce agreed to establish a program to compensate property owners within five kilometres of the repository site if values are adversely affected by the project, should it be sited in the SON-South Bruce area.

Among the prevailing community-based conversations, a few landowners and residents expressed concerns about the project’s potential impact on perceptions of the community’s agricultural products in national and international markets. Some business owners expressed concerns about the project competing for local labour.

In 2021, the results of independent community surveys commissioned by the NWMO in the WLON-Ignace area and the SON-South Bruce area showed high levels of community awareness about the NWMO and our work. Most residents in both siting areas indicated they are aware of the NWMO and know that their communities are part of the site selection process.

Reconciliation and Indigenous Knowledge

In the 2020-22 period, the NWMO listened to and worked with Indigenous communities in the siting areas to overcome some of the unique challenges posed by the pandemic. For example, we heard that Indigenous communities prioritized keeping their members safe. As a result, the NWMO paused engagement and partnership discussions in spring 2020.

We have heard from Indigenous communities that many are happy with the NWMO’s commitment to Reconciliation, but that they are still working through their role in the process. From non-Indigenous peoples, we often hear that they feel encouraged by the NWMO’s Reconciliation Policy (2019) and that these discussions have helped create opportunities to advance Reconciliation with their Indigenous neighbours. However, they have also indicated they still desire support in identifying and implementing next steps. Finally, among our peers in the nuclear industry and corporate Canada, we have heard a lot of very positive feedback about the leadership role that the NWMO has taken on Reconciliation.

When asked how the NWMO’s Reconciliation work could be more relevant to their communities, community members frequently indicated that there could be more opportunities for reciprocal knowledge sharing, including the importance of Reconciliation and the history of residential schools in Canada.

Building on the Reconciliation Training Program we began delivering in 2019, we rolled out a second Reconciliation training module to staff and communities in the siting areas in 2021. A third training module was delivered to staff and communities in the siting areas in 2022 as a further evolution of the Reconciliation Training Program.

By expanding the reach of this program to include the municipal communities in the siting areas, we also prioritized creating space for learning and sharing between Indigenous and municipal governments, as well as between communities. Delivering this training program to the communities was intended to help them build better relationships with the NWMO and one another.

Indigenous communities continue to highlight the importance of protecting the water, air and land. We also heard about the need to make technical information as accessible as possible by collaboratively designing learning materials and creating opportunities for Indigenous peoples to learn more.

Partnership and willingness

With municipalities and Indigenous communities bearing the weight of many of the public health challenges presented by the pandemic, the NWMO continued to listen to communities and respect their needs. Switching to largely online engagement was a challenge we met through active collaboration with local leaders and interested residents in the siting communities.

Working with communities and citizens taught us that the complex topic of radioactive waste is often best suited to face-to-face discussions without firm time limits.

Conversations and engagement activities explored whether there is potential for the support the project will need. Through the community visioning process that began in 2020 in both siting areas, the potential host communities have told us they will need information from borehole studies, community studies and draft hosting agreements to determine if they are willing to host the project. As a result, social, economic and health studies were conducted in both areas, concluding in 2022. Consultants with expertise in a variety of subject matter specialties studied available datasets and gathered information where required, including speaking to dozens of residents and officials in and around the siting areas.

We made much of this information available through the publication of community studies reports at the end of 2022. However, a message we heard loud and clear from people in siting areas was that all this research must be summarized and presented in an easy-to-digest manner. In response, the NWMO developed virtual open houses for each siting area’s studies.

What we heard on implementing Canada’s plan        