SK Nuclear Whistle-blower Hotline

[Oscar]

SK Nuclear Whistle-blower Hotline

From: entwork@hotmail.com
To: premier@gov.sk.ca
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Subject: Whistle-blower Hotline
Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2012 13:46:39 -0400

Premier Wall,

I've spent the past two months meeting with people in more than a dozen communities in northern Saskatchewan to bring them information on nuclear waste that your government should be providing. Many people I've met along the way have told me about safety issues involving the uranium mines and the provincial government's indifference to their concerns. No one wants to come forward with their complaints as they fear they will lose their jobs. To address this matter, the Committee for Future Generations (CFFG) has set up a "Whistle-blower hotline" to give people across Saskatchewan a forum to air their complaints.

No one's name will be disclosed and I will work with the CFFG to bring the issues forward to the appropriate authorities. It should be noted that some people have voiced their concerns openly to the province, the federal government and the regulatory bodies without any action being taken. If you read the June 20-21 Meeting Notes for the Northern Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee, you'll see numerous concerns raised by the designated community representatives which were not addressed.

A case in point was Mary Aubichon addressing the committee:

"So much is going on, yet our people are afraid to bring this forward. Many people have worked with Cameco and contractors; they see safety issues that they won’t bring up. They are afraid of their supervisors or getting fired." Darwin Roy's (Cameco) explanation just makes you shake your head "It’s a difference in culture; we’ll talk about later if you want. In Wollaston we just do one session; La Ronge, LRIB and Air Ronge do separate ones."

That was the entire discussion on the concerns she raised.

The following exchange took place between Sandra Hansen and MOE's Jeff Patterson.

S. Hansen: When a person has an existing licence or permit for storing fuel – if they don’t follow the provincial code they must upgrade their tanks and clean up; if they don’t they can lose their licence. What if they put in new tanks but don’t clean up? In my community the tanks were above ground, close to the shoreline; we could see the flames coming out when they were digging. I called Environment in Stony and they said the land is not contaminated. Small communities are left out and they walk all over us. It has to stop. If Environment is on top of the codes, they should be on top of the work, all the time.

J. Patterson: They could lose their permit and then have to clean up the site. If they replace underground tanks they have to monitor and make sure contamination is not going anywhere. It’s not in the Code yet, but if it’s causing adverse effects, there is a requirement to clean that up. Warren Kelly (Northern Mines Monitoring Secretariat) commented that things don’t work perfectly in the north, and conservation officers have been cut back.

Ms. Hansen raised another issue "Why is there no sampling on Lake Athabaska - you're looking at an area with no mining." MOE's Kevin MCullum agreed that they have seven samples from Lake Athabaska since 1972. It's a serious gap he said.

Cameco's Darwin Roy tried to blow off safety concerns by saying it was a "difference in culture". Other agencies admit to serious gaps in testing and to a shortage of personnel to monitor the north. The corporations and the governments are making money from resource extraction but very little is given back to protect the people and environment most affected by these industrial activities. Hopefully, the information we gather from the "Whistleblower Hotline" will help motivate corporations and governments to do the right thing.

People may contact the SK Nuclear Whistle-blower Hotline in the following ways.

Telephone (306) 288-2079
By Mail: Committee for Future Generations,
Box 155, Beauval, SK., S0M 0G0

E-mail: committeeforfuturegenerations@gmail.com

If people are uncomfortable sending information in above manner, they can contact the committee to set up a private conversation or meeting.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Pat McNamara
entwork@hotmail.com