Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and the Township of Ignace will host a deep geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel, Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization announced Thursday.
The Canadian agency made the announcement on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday only a few days after the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation gave its consent to host the repository. The nation of indigenous people consented to be a host community several months after the Township of Ignace did.
Ignace, in the province of Ontario, is roughly 280 miles East by road from Winnipeg, in the neighboring province of Manitoba, some 440 miles north by road from Duluth, Minn., and about 135 miles in a straight line from the northern shores of Lake Superior.
The Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and the township were one of a pair of Canadian municipalities and indigenous peoples’ nations that were in the running to host the repository. The other pair was the Municipality of South Bruce, also in Ontario, and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation of indigenous peoples.
Though it had not publicly given consent or definitively refused consent as of Thursday’s decision by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation on Nov. 30 said the decision was “an historic victory,” and that “[o]ur voices have been heard and respected – there will be no [deep geologic repository[ in [Saugeen Ojibway Nation] Territory without our consent.
In a letter dated Nov. 21 and posted to the nation’s website on Nov. 25, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation said it planned to hold more public meetings this week about the proposed deep geologic repository.
The Municipality of South Bruce consented to be a host community in October.
