University of Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan public does not feel that it is safe to use nuclear reactors for oil sands extraction, according to Oraclepoll Research Ltd. survey results released today by the HUES3 Campaign Committee. By a margin of three to one, respondents said they do not feel safe with such plans, even though the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation (CCNI) at the University of Saskatchewan has accepted millions of dollars in government and corporate funding to explore the feasibility of developing small nuclear reactors for this purpose.

The summer of 2012 has seen a group of dedicated activists from Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario begin working to revive resistance against the nuclear industry’s persistent efforts to entrench its economic objectives in Saskatchewan.

Perhaps the most pressing issue is the continuing attempts by the industry-driven Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) at finding a “willing” community in northern Saskatchewan to host a nuclear waste disposal site. Northern communities are divided between the need to alleviate desperate poverty and unemployment and the very real concern for the long-term environmental and personal impact of toxic radioactive wastes.