Mayor of South Bruce didn’t expect tight result in vote to host nuclear waste site

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The mayor of an Ontario municipality that has formally decided it is willing to become the site of a deep geological repository for Canada’s nuclear waste says he didn’t think the results of a referendum would be that close.

The Municipality of South Bruce, located south of Owen Sound, held a vote putting the question to its residents and the results released late Monday show they voted 51 per cent in favour of the proposal.

There were 3,130 votes, and there was only a 78-vote gap between the “yes” and “no” responses.

South Bruce narrowly votes to host underground nuclear waste disposal site

South Bruce Mayor Mark Goetz says in an interview he did not think it would be quite so tight, but “the results are the results” so it is the decision the municipality will proceed with.

The results of the vote were binding as long as there was at least 50 per cent voter turnout, and nearly 70 per cent of eligible residents cast a ballot.

Goetz says he is pleased to see so much participation and engagement from his community.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization plans to select a site this year where millions of bundles of used nuclear fuel will be placed in a network of underground rooms connected by cavernous tunnels.

The process for the $26-billion project has already been narrowed down to two sites, Ignace in northern Ontario and South Bruce, and the organization has said both the local municipality and the First Nation in those areas will have to agree to be hosts.

Ignace, between Thunder Bay and Kenora, became the first community to make its decision known in July, as town council voted in favour of a nuclear waste repository at a special meeting.

Attention now will turn to Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and Saugeen Ojibway Nation, to see if they share the same willingness as Ignace and South Bruce, respectively.