What will a nuclear energy agreement mean for the NWT?

Gerry Cheezie says he was surprised to see the premier of the Northwest Territories sign an agreement with two provinces on nuclear energy.

“It’s alarming because the majority of Dene are opposed to nuclear development in the North,” Cheezie, a water advocate and former chief of the Tthebatthie Denesųłiné Nation, told Cabin Radio.

“I don’t know why the premier of the Northwest Territories would sign an MOU without consulting with the Dene, the Métis or the Inuvialuit.”

Earlier this month, Premier RJ Simpson signed the memorandum of understanding with Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Simpson told Cabin Radio the agreement ensures the NWT is “part of the conversation” but the territorial government has no plans to invest in nuclear energy.

“I think that’s probably decades away, if ever. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be prepared and have an awareness of what’s going on,” he said.

“We’ve also had Indigenous governments who’ve been interested in the potential for nuclear power and so we want to make sure we are able to help inform them of what we’re learning.”

As a smaller jurisdiction, Simpson said, the NWT does not have the same capacity as provinces to “dig into nuclear.”

Even a small nuclear reactor would be too large for the territory, he said, and microreactors are not currently viable. He said the NWT is more interested in possible grid connections with projects being developed in the south.

“We need some redundancy in our grid. We want to be connected to the southern grid and so this allows us to get into that conversation,” he said.

Nuclear power in Saskatchewan and Alberta

Earlier this year, the federal government launched Canada’s first national nuclear energy strategy and announced $40 million to “assess the potential of a Canadian-controlled microreactor that could provide heat and electricity to remote and northern” defence facilities and operations.

The Saskatchewan government on Tuesday released its nuclear energy plan, which sets a goal to produce at least 2,600 megawatts of nuclear power by 2050.

The province said SaskPower is planning for the potential development of two large nuclear reactors in northwest Saskatchewan with an initial generating capacity of more than 2,000 MW. The first reactor is expected to be online by 2042.

SaskPower also selected a site near the city of Estevan, just north of the American border, for further study regarding small reactor development.

In Alberta, companies have been exploring the potential for nuclear energy in the oil sands.

Cheezie said he’s particularly concerned about a nuclear facility proposed by private company Energy Alberta around 30 km north of the town of Peace River, which is upstream from the NWT.

“If there was a nuclear accident to happen, it would devastate our communities and also devastate the river and everything that lives in the river,” he said. “We’re well aware of what has happened with nuclear accidents in the world, at Fukushima, at Three Mile Island, at Chernobyl.”

The Dene Nation issued a press release opposing the nuclear project last November, citing concerns with a lack of robust environmental protections and consultation, as well as potential negative impacts on water, health and Treaty rights.

“The Dene have a sacred relationship with the land and water, and any project that jeopardizes this connection is unacceptable,” the release stated.

Cheezie added that delegates at last January’s Dene National Assembly in Fort Good Hope passed a resolution opposing the Peace River nuclear project. (Water is again a major issue at the latest Dene National Assembly this week.)

The Dene Nation declined Cabin Radio’s request for comment regarding nuclear energy and the North.

Cheezie said he is opposed to any kind of nuclear development. He wants to see the territory develop small-scale hydroelectric dams in each region.