The people of Ontario are…

   The people of Ontario are very concerned about the provincial government's nuclear plants and the proposed plans for them. We don't want a Fukushima and it is very possible, even likely, that eventually a nuclear accident the size of Fukushima will happen in Ontario. Ageing infrastructure and the very lethal by-products of nuclear energy point to an energy source that has gone way beyond its best-before date.

  The people of Ontario need this government to push back at the nuclear industry. We have paid enough for them to profit while putting our lives, our ecosystems and future generations at great risk. Proposals to date lack any review of public costs or of serious research into alternative energy sources. A government in the pockets of the nuclear energy is not in the best interests of the people and the ecosystems in which we live.

  Fukushima today, 5 years after the accident,y remains an environmental disaster with very little being told to the global public about the reckless and unaccountable management of this facility or of the ongoing dangers posed by a complete lack of procedures for clean-up. Right now Tepco is planning on dumping millions of tons of nuclear waste water into the Pacific Ocean, posing a danger to all ocean life on the planet.

  A similar scenario would be the fate of this province and the world since Ontario does not have adequate plans in place in the event of a nuclear accident and the entire globe could be at risk were an accident to occur at either the Pickering or Bruce nuclear facilities.

  We need a national energy strategy with an enhanced, modernized East-West electricity corridor so Ontario can import lower cost, greener power from Quebec and Manitoba. We also need to amend the Nuclear Liability Act to ensure the industry is liable for damages. As well, we must reverse any decision to place nuclear waste in the Great Lakes watershed.

  We also urge an independent public review of the costs associated with nuclear power, as well as a move to sustainable alternatives. Economically rational choices to ensure that we leave a viable and healthy environment for future generations are a must. The government's love affair with nuclear energy is misguided to say the least, and downright dangerous to future generations. It makes no economic sense in an era where nuclear plants are being closed and sustainable alternatives are being implemented. In 2015 alone Ontario exported more power than Pickering produced and lost money doing it. Ontario's blind allegiance to nuclear puts us all at risk - environmentally, economically and physically.

  Ontario must be protected so that catastrophic accidents like Fukushima are impossible. That means no nuclear.

[Original Comment ID: 210204]