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Appeal Court Backs Chalk River Nuclear Waste Site Approval
In brief
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled against Kebaowek First Nation in its challenge to a low-level radioactive waste facility planned at Chalk River Laboratories, beside the Ottawa River in eastern Ontario. In a unanimous decision released Friday, the court found that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission was not required to apply the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) when it approved the project.
What the court decided
Kebaowek, an Algonquin Anishinaabeg community in western Quebec, had won a partial victory in Federal Court, which sent the matter back to the regulator and said consultations had to meet a higher standard under the federal UNDRIP law passed in 2021. According to CBC News and APTN News, the three-judge appeal panel overturned that order and dismissed Kebaowek’s cross-appeal, which had asked for the approval to be cancelled outright.
Writing for the court, Justice Wyman Webb said the federal law sets up a process for Canada to bring its laws in line with UNDRIP over time rather than putting the declaration’s articles into effect immediately. The court also found the nuclear commission is not “the Government of Canada” for the purpose of resolving any conflicts between UNDRIP and Canadian law, and that its finding that the facility is unlikely to cause significant environmental harm was reasonable.
The project
The Near Surface Disposal Facility would hold low-level radioactive waste from decades of work at Chalk River, roughly 200 kilometres northwest of Ottawa. APTN reported the site would be about the size of 32 football fields. The commission first approved it in January 2024.
What comes next
Kebaowek councillor Justin Roy told APTN the community was deeply disappointed and would decide on next steps, which could include asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear the case. iPolitics noted the ruling could affect how other major projects handle Indigenous consultation.
Want that 200 km in miles? Use our km to miles converter. ViralScopeHub is not affiliated with any party to the case; this is an independent news summary, not legal advice.
Why it matters
The decision is one of the first appeal-level rulings on what the federal UNDRIP law requires in practice, and it comes as Ottawa pushes to speed up approvals for large projects.
Related free tools: km to Miles Converter
Sources
- CBC News: Appeal court refuses to expand duty to consult in pivotal federal UNDRIP case
- APTN News: Federal Court of Appeal hands Kebaowek defeat on challenge to nuclear waste dump
- iPolitics: Nuclear regulator can’t decide how to implement UNDRIP, appeal court rules
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