I think it’s time we begin a bit of public discourse on the subject of the nuclear facility being proposed for development in the North Peace area.
For those of you who are not aware, SNC Lavalin from Quebec, trading under the name of Atkins Realis, is proposing to build a nuclear facility either on the west side of the Peace River near Weberville in the County of Northern Lights, or on the east side of the river near Carmen Creek, in the M.D. of Peace. Both sites need to be fairly close to the river to access a continuous supply of water to ensure the safety of the plant. A brochure says they intend to keep risks to a “minimum”.
A recent open house at the Weberville Hall was very well attended by local residents who were interested in learning more about this project. Unfortunately, the format of this gathering did not lend itself to having people ask questions publicly. Many of the questions I asked were skirted and I felt the answers were evasive.
Back in February 2024, Atkins Realis hosted ‘closed’ meetings with representatives from surrounding counties that may be affected, including my County of Northern Lights. The proposal included forming a Peace Regional Energy Committee (PREC) to explore various forms of energy development in the Peace Region. According to Google, the PREC was adopted by consensus on Aug. 1, 2024, with the terms of reference finalized on July 10, 2024. Administrative support for the committee would be provided by the County of Northern Lights and it was agreed to pay a $2,000 membership to this committee from taxpayer’s coffers. I am not sure where the money to pay for travel/meetings comes from: a question perhaps to ask at an open forum meeting?
At the April 23 County of Northern Lights meeting, Councillor Brent Reese expressed concern over this development on various levels, but was unanimously outvoted by our councillors.
In early August 2024, while reading the County of Northern Lights minutes in the newspaper, I noticed, near the end of the meeting, that the council went ‘in camera’ to discuss the upcoming Energy Committee. I was curious what this committee was so I emailed our county office and the reply back was that she did not know, so I asked her to find out and get back to me. A few days later I received an email that the CEO was not aware of this committee either. I did some research and much to my surprise, discovered that this committee was interested in promoting the development of a nuclear facility, once again, within our area. I sent a letter to our County outlining some of my concerns and questions, but I only received very generic form letter back that answered nothing.
In September 2024, the County of Northern Lights agreed to support nuclear development in our area from a writeup in our local newspaper). Funny, they didn’t even seem to know a thing about it a month ago!
I have to say I am not entirely opposed to new developments in the energy sector. There are huge developments in the area of geothermal and hydro. I understand the need to move forward in a safe and responsible manner, but I feel our local counties and M.D.s are going about this in an entirely undemocratic way. They have no authority to support such controversial and sensitive issues without first consulting people they represent.
All of the ‘closed’ or ‘in camera’ meetings should not be allowed to happen. The media should be in attendance and the public should be encouraged to present their opinions.
I’m hoping that going forward, there will be open meetings in every community that would be both directly and indirectly involved, making the dialogue accessible to all residents. Having an open house in Weberville made it difficult for residents from the outlying areas to attend. We have many questions and concerns that need to be addressed.
Karen Gardecki,
Resident,
County of
Northern Lights