McNAMARA: NUCLEAR RACISM and GENOCIDE in CANADA

[Oscar]

NUCLEAR RACISM and GENOCIDE in CANADA


----- Original Message -----
From: Ent Work
To: muninfo@gov.sk.ca ; jreiter@mla.legassembly.sk.ca ; bwall@mla.legassembly.sk.ca ; gwyant@mla.legassembly.sk.ca ; tmcmillan@mla.legassembly.sk.ca ; bbelanger@mla.legassembly.sk.ca ; rob.clarke@parl.gc.ca ; fdiv-pinehouse@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 4:10 PM
Subject: Nuclear Racism and Genocide in Canada

Note: To all those blind-copied on this e-mail, please distribute and post as widely as possible.

Ms. Angela Currie and others,

Northern residents contacted you to voice their concerns about their safety and none of you raised a finger to help. They have no choice but to protect themselves another way.

I was asked by residents in northern communities to help them deal with issues surrounding NWMO 's proposal. Though my focus is on NWMO, many of my conversations with residents have included their experiences in uranium mines. Their comments do not paint a pretty picture. One of those pictures will be the focus of my paper tomorrow.

Mr. Clarke: The nuclear industry and NWMO are federal issues, so don't excuse yourself from this discussion.

Ms. Currie: You've been warned that residents in Pinehouse face dangers. If someone gets hurt as a result of your inaction, primary responsibility will fall on your shoulders. You may want to pass this up the food chain fairly quickly.

Pat McNamara

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NUCLEAR RACISM and GENOCIDE in CANADA

by Pat McNamara September 25, 2012

The Saskatchewan government is perpetuating an 80-year history of genocide, racism and environmental degradation by provincial and federal governments to allow the nuclear industry to exist in Canada. The most recent episode involves the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) attempt to find a site for Eastern Canada’s high-level nuclear garbage in northern Saskatchewan. Brad Wall’s government is giving its tacit approval by allowing municipal officials in Pinehouse and NWMO staff to intimidate the community into accepting the project.

The most disturbing examples of this intimidation were directed toward a 17-year old Metis youth who respectfully opposed the waste project at public meetings and in front of local council. The absolute low point came when one of NWMO’s paid advisors pointed at the youth during a public meeting and said “you’ll be in jail before you even graduate, so you might as well go hang yourself with your Metis sash.”

The 200 people who attended the meeting were shocked and many walked out. Suicide was already on everyone’s mind as five youth in local communities had taken their lives in the preceding months. This callousness has been endemic to the treatment of northern people by the nuclear industry since its inception.

VILLAGE of WIDOWS

The Canadian government began its love affair with the atom in 1930 when radium was discovered near Decline in the North West Territories. Local residents were hired to carry burlap sacks of uranium ore from the Port Radium mine to the barges on Great Bear Lake. The workers slept on the bags of uranium all the way to Fort McMurray to be transferred for shipment to the Port Hope Refinery.

Decline resident Cindy Kenny-Gilday wrote: "Decline is practically a village of widows, most of the men who worked as labourers have died of some form of cancer. The widows, who are traditional women, were left to raise their families with no breadwinners or supporters. They were left to depend on welfare and other young men for their traditional food source. This village of young men are the first generation of men in the history of Dene on this lake to grow up without guidance from their grandfathers, fathers and uncles. This cultural, economic, spiritual, emotional deprivation impact on the community is a threat to the survival of the one and only tribe on Great Bear Lake. It's the most vicious example of cultural genocide I have ever seen and it’s in my own home."

The people of Deline did not know what was causing cancer. The Canadian government did not inform Deline that it was their exposure to radiation that was killing them until 1998, until after the people of Deline had identified the cause through their own research. Andy Orkin, an Ontario lawyer who worked on behalf of the Deline First Nations people said it best: "We left them to die and hoped they would never ask any questions".

SERPENT RIVER (ELLIOT LAKE)

Twelve uranium mines opened near Elliot Lake in the early 1950s to supply uranium to the American nuclear weapons program. The radioactive tailings from mining and milling were dumped into ten lakes close to the mines. The contamination killed the lakes and 90 kilometres of the Serpent River.

In 1974, the government of Ontario appointed Dr. James Ham to study mine safety at Elliot Lake. He concluded that "Neither the workers nor their representatives were advised about the emerging status of the problem of lung cancer". Dr. Ham, a past president of the University of Toronto, also conducted an inquiry into the actions of the Workers Compensation Board in the 1970s. The inquiry led to the reversal of over 100 compensation claims against radiation induced illnesses and death.

ATOMIC VETERANS

The Canadian government sacrificed the health of 689 Armed Forces members at 29 nuclear weapons tests in the United States, Australia and the Pacific Ocean between 1946 and 1963. The soldiers wore no protective equipment and were not advised of the dangers they were exposed to. Reg Pitts, one of the soldiers from the RCAF, recounts “We were in a six-foot trench when the weapon went off and I saw my arm bones and the complete skeletal system of the lad next to me and I saw part of the skeletal system of the guy next to him."

The soldiers wore film badges to measure the amount of external radiation they were exposed to. These function much the same as modern dosimeters worn by miners and other nuclear workers. However, neither film badges or dosimeters measure radioactive material inside a body. Nuclear weapons expert John Clearwater explains "What was not monitored was radiation from internal emitters which may have been breathed or swallowed or made their way into the body through any opening in the skin. These internal emitters of radiation, even at the single particle level, can and do cause the onset of disease."

GUNNAR MINE

The Gunnar Mine is located 25 kilometres from Uranium City and operated from 1955 to 1964. No effort to decommission the facility was made when it closed. The Canadian government showed their complete disregard for First Nations people when they set up a federally-owned fish processing plant at the pier on the mine site in 1971 despite knowing the radioactive dangers posed by the mine and the tailings.

Chief Victor Fern recalls his early teen years at the fish plant in a 2006 report titled For Our Children’s Children. “The buildings were wide open and there were no warning signs or anything. The mine shaft was probably about fifty yards from the processing plant and that was wide open, too. We used to climb that everyday. There was no fencing or anything. Even the uranium processing mill was wide open, so we used to go in all those buildings, not knowing any dangers about radiation. Also the tailings pond where all the waste went, it was fine sand that we didn’t know was toxic waste, and we would go and play in there.”

MCARTHUR RIVER URANIUM MINE

On April 6, 2003, Cameco’s McArthur River uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan suffered a cave-in and flood of radioactive water. The miners who were sent in to try to save the mine worked without respirators or radiation suits for the first 48 hours.

According to Bill Good, one of the first miners sent in, "the mine's radiation alarm kept going off, but the radiation technician merely re-set the alarm, assuring us that everything was fine. He'd just go over and turn it off, and on. And then it would go green and then ten minutes later it would be red again." The alarm normally turns red when radon levels rise above one picocurie per litre. However, radon levels in the first 48 hours went as high as 44 picocuries per litre.

In an article for Mining Watch, Jamie Kneen wrote "Cameco representatives admitted that consultants’ reports had warned of the possibility of a cave-in and major "inflow", and that they had inadequate pumping and water treatment capacity and no contingency plans. They also admitted that their internal geology and engineering used non-standard methodology and therefore couldn’t be analysed and compared to standard mine practice. Cameco’s excuse is that they had mined in the danger zone before, and they thought they could continue without taking precautions like installing extra pumping capacity or preventive measures like freezing the ore before drilling into it".

System Improvements Inc., a consultant hired by Cameco, stated: "If effective ground support had been in place on April 6, 2003, the ground would not have failed and the water inflow could not have occurred." The report also said that Cameco had been repeatedly warned by their Chief geologist, the mine superintendent and contract workers about the potential dangers from water hazards right up until the accident happened.

CNSC Commissioner Christopher Barnes (a geologist) admonished Cameco officials at a subsequent hearing: “When you put the pieces together, they build a story of really fundamental issues about the competence of the company."

DR. POWERS SCHOOL – PORT HOPE ONTARIO

In April 2004, gamma radiation was discovered in the school’s playground during testing in advance of playground upgrades. A subsequent search of the school’s radiological file revealed the school was tested by the Canadian nuclear authorities in 1978. They discovered radon levels under the kindergarten class were 125 times higher than the allowable level at the time. The federal government covered up the test results and kept elementary grade children in the contaminated school for the next 28 years.

Though the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Health Canada and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited tried to dismiss the findings as inconsequential at the time, the material under the school had to be removed when it was converted to low-cost housing in 2011. The aforementioned crown agencies are still refusing to admit to the presence of radioactive waste under other schools in the area, most notably Burnham Elementary School in Cobourg. The contaminated material came from the uranium processing facility in Port Hope now owned by Cameco.

PINEHOUSE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL

Fast-forward to today and little has changed. The most recent assault on northern people comes from the owners of the nuclear reactors based in eastern Canada who want to dispose of high-level radioactive waste. Representatives from Ontario Power Generation, Quebec Hydro, New Brunswick Power, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and a couple of universities make up the Board of Directors of NWMO. There are no Aboriginals or Saskatchewan residents on the Board.

NWMO is dangling the promise of jobs and riches in front of First Nations, Metis and other impoverished communities in Saskatchewan and Ontario. NWMO is aided in their quest by all three levels of government, nuclear companies and even some First Nations and Metis people. In some cases, they’re willing participants (co-conspirators) while others are involved because they’ve been subjected to economic blackmail on a personal or community level.

The inaction of the Saskatchewan government on a variety of issues is paving the way for NWMO to find a site. Recent complaints containing sworn affidavits on election irregularities and voter intimidation during the Pinehouse election went nowhere. Residents asked the Ministry of Government Relations for outside monitors and an RCMP presence at the polling station but both were denied. The fear in the community was so palpable that not a single candidate opposing the sitting council stayed to monitor the voting or ballot counting nor could they find an agent to do so on their behalf.

I spent two days meeting with people in Pinehouse between the September 12th advance poll and the September 19th election. The accounts of corruption and intimidation concerning the sitting council were unending, but everyone is too afraid to come forward and speak out. One of the main concerns voiced was the council’s control of Pinehouse Business North (PBN), the largest employer in the community. If you don’t support NWMO, you don’t work for PBN.

The town’s website shows PBN was formed in 1998 as a community-owned business that became involved in forestry, tourism, brush-clearing, fishing and construction activities. However, in a power-point presentation to the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Saskatchewan in 2012, PBN claims the corporation was formed on May 17, 2007. Residents have repeatedly asked Mayor Mike Natomagan about the activities of PBN and its ownership, but he will say little. The town’s website says the mayor is president of PBN for which he’s reportedly paid $300,000 per year. Residents have been unable to confirm his salary while some believe his dual roles are a conflict of interest.

According to Pinehouse residents, PBN was flat broke and they owed a quarter million dollars in federal taxes a little over two years ago. They had very little work lined up and few, if any contracts with Cameco. Once their council professed an interest in hosting NWMO’s storage facility, their money problems ended and the nuclear contracts started rolling in. Residents would like to see a forensic audit carried out on the municipality.

NWMO INTIMIDATION

Pinehouse had a vibrant Youth Town Council led by 17-year old Regan Misponas. It all started unraveling when Regan and his council voiced their opposition to NWMO’s waste storage site. Town Council and the Executive Director of the Kineepik Metis Council, Vince Natomagan, tried to get Regan to change his mind by offering a number of inducements aimed at youth in the community. Regan wouldn’t change his mind so council responded by shutting Regan out of any further involvement with town council.

NWMO’s Aboriginal Liaison Pat Patton called Regan into a meeting along with an official from the Saskatchewan Government. They interrogated Regan for an hour over his stance on the waste repository. Regan admitted he was afraid after this encounter.

On another occasion, Regan dropped off information concerning waste storage at Vince Natomagan’s trailer as he requested. As Regan was walking home, Natomagan came up from behind and pulled his car on to the sidewalk in front of Regan. He got out and berated Regan for giving him the material while shaking his fist in the young man’s face. Vince Natomagan was paid by NWMO as a liaison officer. Regan’s parents pressed charges with the RCMP.

The final straw came after Regan spoke to a public meeting of 200 people in Beauval organized by the Committee for Future Generations. Jim Sinclair, a paid advisor to NWMO, was the next speaker. He told the audience they had to take NWMO’s proposal seriously as it would mean a lot of money to deal with the suicides, drugs and alcohol in the community. Then he pointed at Regan and said “You will be in jail before you even graduate, so you might as well go hang yourself with your Metis sash.” People in the room were stunned at this inappropriate attack on a 17-year old whose only crime was that he was concerned about his community’s future.

This attack by NWMO had the desired results. Regan’s parents forbade him from any further involvement in the issue or with the council in Pinehouse. NWMO saw nothing wrong with Jim Sinclair’s disgusting outburst as he continued to represent NWMO at subsequent meetings.

SASKATCHEWAN GOVERNMENT

The Saskatchewan government is trying to impose a nuclear project on a community and a province that doesn’t want it. They’re turning a blind eye to election irregularities, physical intimidation and psychological abuse in northern communities to allow NWMO to find a site for Eastern Canada’s high-level radioactive waste.

The high-level waste storage issue was first raised during the Uranium Development Partnership public meetings in 2009. Residents soundly rejected the proposal by voting 88% against it. Two thirds of the adults in Pinehouse have already signed the petition opposing the project. Almost a hundred others told organizers they were against it but were afraid to sign out of fear of reprisal. Saskatchewan residents do not want high-level waste stored in the province and its time the government accepts that.

Many of the residents of Pinehouse and other communities have justifiable concerns about their safety, yet Brad Wall’s government is doing nothing to protect them. Premier Wall’s indifference to their plight is a continuation of the racist and genocidal policies that the provincial and federal governments have used to allow the nuclear industry to exist in Canada since 1930. It’s time to stop this assault on impoverished communities in the north.

Pat McNamara
entwork@hotmail.com
(306) 288-7933

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Note: I’ve included the following reference papers on which much of this paper is based.

Cindy Kenny-Gilday’s paper: "The Village of Widows"
http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/SEEJ/Mining/gilday.html

Andrew Nikiforuk’s article: "Echoes of the Atomic Age."
http://www.ccnr.org/deline_deaths.html

Lorraine Rekmans’ book on Serpent River: “This Is My Homeland”
http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/
my-homeland-stories-effects-nuclear-industries-people-review

What the Hell is This Thing? Dave Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen, November 8, 2007
http://www2.canada.com/ottawacitizen/fe ... membrance/
story.html?id=0199ac03-baf9-4bb5-94dd-8221324aeb3c


Compensation for Atomic Veterans
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/
story.html?id=d5beaffe-d1e2-4a32-8a14-eb449a87a729

History of Saskatchewan Uranium Mines from Mining Watch
http://www.miningwatch.ca/sites/www.min ... .ca/files/
Uranium_Canada_0.pdf

Cameco Mismanagement at McArthur Mine
http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/
cameco-comes-under-fire-mismanagement-mcarthur-river-uranium-mine

Town Website Showing PBN Formed in 1998
http://www.pinehousebusinessnorth.ca/
index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18:building-the-future&catid=4:highlights

Power-point Showing May 17, 2007 Incorporation of PBN
http://www.afoa.ca/conference/2012/file ... ehouse.pdf

Mayor/President Mike Natomagan
http://www.pinehousebusinessnorth.ca/
index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=4

Pinehouse Youth Town Council Website
http://www.freewebs.com/ytcleader/pinehouselake.htm