Uranium? Leave
It in the Ground
A personal perspective on a local fight
I listened with interest last
October at the Council of
Canadians’ annual general
meeting in Kelowna, British
Columbia, as members from
British Columbia, Saskatchewan
and Ontario discussed their
struggles with uranium mining
issues in their provinces. We were
lucky in Nova Scotia. With a moratorium
on uranium mining (at the time,
we were the only province with one), it
seemed we had achieved something significant
in recognizing this was not what
we wanted for our communities.
Unfortunately I was wrong to be so
complacent about our situation in Nova
Scotia. Our moratorium was at best
very tenuous, especially when facing the
pressure of market forces. As the price of
uranium on the world market began to
rise, at least one mining company began
to pursue this province as a viable source
of uranium. It wasn’t long before our
provincial government, seduced by the
promise of an economic boom for Nova
Scotia, suggested lifting the moratorium.
I decided I needed to get involved. I
began by educating myself about uranium
mining, learning that it poses
serious dangers to the environment,
to people’s health, and indeed to the
planet that far outweigh any good it can
do. The mining process poses unacceptable
risks – unacceptable to our land
and waterways and unacceptable to our
people. This is not the right path for
Nova Scotia.
Just before the end of the year, new
information surfaced. We learned that
despite the moratorium, a mining company
called Tripple Uranium Resources Inc. was actively exploring Atlantic
Canada, including an area in Nova
Scotia between Windsor and Chester
that is known to be rich in uranium.
The South Shore chapter of the Council
of Canadians quickly organized a public
meeting. Most of us had not been active
in the work done by citizens’ groups 25
years ago that helped establish the current
moratorium. We contacted Rudy
Haase, a Council of Canadians member
who was chair of “Citizens Against
Uranium Mining” in the 1980s, for
advice. He went into his basement and
found material from that campaign,
including a stack of bumper stickers that
read “Uranium? Leave it in the ground.”
About 120 people attended that first
public meeting on a stormy January
night. It was evident that not one
person in the room believed uranium
mining would be a good idea for our
province. The risks to health and the
environment were cited as clear, factsupported
reasons to continue the moratorium.
It was also emphasized that any
uranium mined in Nova Scotia would inevitably be sold to countries that
would use it to make nuclear weapons.
Since that initial meeting, other groups
around the province began to organize.
We have formed both local and provincial
coalitions, started a letter-writing
campaign, contacted our local papers,
met with our provincial MLAs, and held
other public meetings and film screenings.
We have produced postcards, petitions,
fact sheets, brochures and blogs,
and have arranged for three municipalities
to pass resolutions calling on the
Nova Scotia government to bring in a
legislated ban on uranium mining. We
have also participated in the provincial
government’s Voluntary Planning Process
on Natural Resources, with strong submissions
opposing uranium mining.
Yet a very powerful campaign by the
nuclear energy industry continues to
suggest that uranium (and nuclear) is
a “green” energy and one way to fight
climate change. Last fall our Minister of
the Environment said in the Legislature:
“The government has an open mind on
uranium mining and is trying to think
of creative ways if we’re going to fight climate
change.” The Minister ignores the
fact that research has proven that nuclear
energy is green only if the massive carbon
debt of uranium mining, reactor
construction (and decommissioning) and
waste management is ignored.
Canada’s deeper integration with the
United States through the Security
and Prosperity Partnership has accelerated
this push towards nuclear energy.
We must resist any further notion that
uranium mining can be beneficial to
Canada, and that nuclear energy can be
considered “green energy.”
As I drive around the province I am
always encouraged in the validity of
this fight when I spot cars with those
25-year-old bumper stickers: “Uranium?
Leave it in the ground.”
Marion Moore is a South Shore, Nova Scotia
chapter activist and member of the Council
of Canadians’ board of directors.
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Photo: Council of Canadians’ board member Marion
Moore shows a bumper sticker with the 25
year-old campaign slogan “Uranium: Leave
it in the ground!” which is still being used
in the fight to ban uranium mining in Nova
Scotia today.
