The final round of hearings into Bruce Power’s licence renewal for its Tiverton site has wrapped up in Port Elgin.
Delegations from Bruce County Council, the Power Workers Union, and the Grey Bruce Labour Council all told the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) they support the licence renewal.
Labour Council President Dave Trumble says they believe Bruce Power is a great, safe supporter of the community.
A lawyer for Inverhuron landowner Eugene Bourgeois says his client’s family and property have been harmed by emissions from Bruce Power’s fire training facility.
Bruce Power CEO Duncan Hawthorne told the commission fire training is a provincial — not federal responsibility and he does not want to discuss what amounts to a personal injury legal issue.
Saugeen First Nation Chief Randall Kahgee told the commission his band, along with the Chippewas of Nawash are concerned about the need to protect fish habitats and respect traditional land.
Kahgee is confident that after 40 years, progress can start to be made on those issues.
Ziggy Kleinau of Lion’s Head-based Citizens for Renewable Energy criticized the CNSC’s licensing process.
He says the CNSC is supposed to show oversight but instead just letting the industry go by its own standards.
A representative from Greenpeace stated concerns about how Canada’s nuclear reactors operate and how Bruce Power needs an end of life strategy for the Bruce B reactors.
Hawthorne says the hearings featured local opinion, along with those with a more ideological view on nuclear power.
He doesn’t believe there were any specific criticisms of how Bruce Power operates the Bruce A and B plants, but instead at the nuclear industry and regulatory system.
The CNSC will now take 30 days to decide if the licence should be renewed for Bruce A and B, and if fuel loading can begin for the refurbished Bruce A units.