SPECIAL REPORT | CANADA’S GDF


Right: Rendering of proposed Centre of Expertise in Ignace, Ontario


move forward with the required rock formations (Ignace


is crystalline and South Bruce is sedimentary). So, much of the decision would come down to social factors. Despite South Bruce’s closer proximity to the spent fuel, after an almost 15-year consultation process, the readiness and strength of the Ignace-site communities’ commitment to the project tipped the decision in their favour and on 28 November, 2024, site selection was made. Ignace with a population of just over 1,200 people, sits


about 1,100 kilometres northwest of Toronto, about a two- and-a-half-hour car ride from the closest city, Thunder Bay. It is on the last stretch of north-western Ontario’s paved highway in an area that boasts a wealth of minerals that might one day enjoy a thriving mining industry. But until now, it has been a remote community known for winter sports like ice fishing and summer recreation on its white-sand beaches (when the weather is warm enough to enjoy them). Two weeks post site selection, Ignace announced life as


the town knew it had already changed. This small northern Ontario community has become a global sensation drawing attention that includes a film crew in town from Japan to document history in the making. Whatever it was before, Ignace is now a place the world comes to learn. As part of the project, a C$21m (US$14.6m) Centre of Expertise will be constructed. It is expected to draw hundreds of global scientists and tourists, annually.


A flagship community According to the Township, Ignace and the Wabigoon Lake area is “now officially being recognised and admired by global interests for the courage it has illustrated and the steps it has taken to be announced by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) as the location of Canada’s first ever deep geological repository site to store used nuclear fuel.” “Over the course of the past two weeks, this community


and area has been catapulted to the forefront of positive media and press coverage across the world,” says Jake Pastore, the Township’s communication lead. He continues, “The media and press coverage, both traditional and digital within the nuclear industry and abroad that has taken place and continues to unravel, has placed these communities in an envious marketing capability position.” The Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON) has been


involved in discussions and information sharing through a “Learn More Agreement” with the NWMO for 12 years. The First Nation’s leadership says the process has “enabled


38 | February 2025 | www.neimagazine.com


WLON’s members and leadership to thoroughly examine what potentially hosting a DGR could mean,” both for their community and Canada. “WLON views our role as the potential host for


Canada’s used nuclear fuel as one of the most important responsibilities of our time. We can not ignore this challenge and allow it to become a burden for future generations. Our membership spoke with a clear voice in our willingness decision that we have the bravery and courage to continue to the next phase of this project.” The Chief and Council also notes that while their


efforts with NWMO have already been extensive, “in many ways, the journey has just begun. We will continue to work closely with the NWMO to ensure that our role as the guardians of our land and water remains central to the decision-making process. This project can only continue if it can be proven that it will be built safely, with respect to the environment and in a manner that protects Anishnaabe values.” Among the additional milestones the project must achieve is a successful outcome from a rigorous federal impact assessment and regulatory process. In addition, the project will be subject to WLON’s Sovereign regulatory decision-making process, the WLON Regulatory Assessment and Approval Process (WLON-RAAP), which the NWMO agreed to as an addition to the country’s existing regulatory requirements. The significance of the project for the Canadian industry and the jurisdictions planning to include nuclear to meet low-carbon electricity demand is well understood. Moving the project forward closes the life cycle of existing nuclear facilities and as importantly, perhaps, it demonstrates Canada’s ability to join jurisdictions like Finland, Sweden and Switzerland in creating a sustainable life cycle that addresses the final storage and disposal of all nuclear waste in a way that protects both humans and the environment. The work will play a key role in the plans for thousands additional nuclear megawatts already on Ontario’s planning books and for projects being investigated in other parts of the country.


The blueprint for a made-in-Canada solution Canada’s solution to permanent deep geologic storage of high-level nuclear waste can be traced to the process undertaken for Finland’s repository, which began testing and trials in August 2024 with an anticipated operational date of 2026. That process dates to 1983 when Finland first began development of its plans for waste disposal. In 2001, Finland’s government approved site selection.


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