IGNACE — A Northwestern Ontario township on the shortlist for a nuclear waste repository is looking for residents interested in a trip to Finland.
The Township of Ignace put up a notice on its website Saturday inviting applicants to “represent the community” during an early November visit to the Nordic country’s almost-completed repository.
The itinerary will include an underground tour of the Onkalo “deep geological repository,” a tour of a nuclear power plant, and meeting with local elected officials.
It’s a vital step as Ignace goes through a “willingness process” to decide whether it wants to host a proposed “deep geological repository” nearby, Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) spokesperson Vince Ponka said Tuesday.
“It really gives Ignace residents the chance to go take a look at a deep geological repository that’s very close to operation,” he said.
“And, you know, it's one thing to read the specifications about one of these facilities being 500 to 700 metres down with these huge tunnels, but to really go and experience that, I think, will just give people a much stronger understanding of what this facility would look like.
“And it gives people a chance to have a stronger understanding of the safety case (for the proposed repository) as well.”
The Ignace delegation will have “the chance to talk to politicians from Finland that have already gone through the site selection process,” he said.
The repository project “is a significant project with a wide scope of complexities,” Jake Pastore of Summit PCG, which has a public relations contract with the township, said in an email.
“As such, the township is taking every opportunity to learn, educate and evaluate the experiences of others … including an upcoming trip to Finland, alongside both NWMO and members of the community delegated to this mission,” he added.
The Onkalo deep geological repository for nuclear waste is being built in Finland near the Gulf of Bothnia and the country’s border with Sweden.
The NWMO is considering Ignace and South Bruce in southwestern Ontario as host communities for a similar nuclear waste repository. The NWMO has been engaged in a “willingness process” in both places to build and gauge community support for such a waste storage facility.
The process includes a Willingness Committee appointed by the municipality to help the community decide whether it’s OK with the area hosting the repository. The committee currently has eight members.
Ignace township councillors passed a resolution last week to appoint eight people to its delegation for the Finland junket: councillors Wayne Minnear and Jodi Defeo; Willingness Committee members Diana Baril, Cindy Stark and Roger Dufault; township employees Keith Roseborough and Sean DeTracey; and Ashley Cloutier as a youth representative.
Other Ignace residents are invited to apply for a spot in the delegation by 3 p.m. on Thursday.
