The president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) says the federal government’s decision to designate the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) proposed Deep Geological Repository (DGR) as a project of national interest is good news for the region, but it also underscores the need for safer highways.
In an interview with the Kenora Miner & News, NOMA President Rick Dumas said the project — which still faces at least some tentative barriers ahead of getting built — is expected to bring significant economic benefits to the region while reinforcing the association’s long-standing call for improvements to Highways 11 and 17.
“When Prime Minister Carney announced that they were looking at the potential of the national interest of this project, this has been in the books for a decade,” Dumas said. “This is great because it’s going to be a great economic benefit for Northwestern Ontario.”
The federal government recently designated the proposed DGR near Ignace as a project of national interest under new legislation intended to accelerate major infrastructure and resource developments considered important to Canada’s economy.
If approved, the DGR would provide the means for permanent underground storage for Canada’s used nuclear fuel, the bulk of which would be shipped to the region from Southern Ontario.
While some residents remain concerned about transporting nuclear waste through Northwestern Ontario, Dumas said he has become more comfortable with the project after learning more about how the material would be moved.
“This is going to be probably the safest product that’s going to move up and down our highway corridors,” he said, noting the containers are expected to travel only during daylight hours under strict safety protocols.
Dumas said hazardous materials already travel through the region every day.
“I also remind people when I share with them that each and every day going up and down our rail systems and our highways today, there’s a lot of harsh chemicals and products, including nuclear products, that are going up and down our highways right now.”
He said the project’s designation strengthens the case for continued investment in Northern Ontario’s transportation infrastructure.
“So, in conjunction with that, we want to make sure that the federal government and the provincial government come together and make sure our highway corridors are enhanced and are safe to travel on with the product being shipped to Ignace and the creation of those several hundreds, if not thousands of jobs,” Dumas said.
NOMA has long advocated for twinning sections of Highway 11 and Highway 17 or expanding parts of the corridor to a two-plus-one configuration to improve safety.
Asked whether those projects should be included in future federal investments related to the repository, Dumas was unequivocal.
“One hundred percent. That is the ask of NOMA, to continue to focus on the twinning and/or 2 plus 1,” he said. “The 2 plus 1 (model) is quicker to build, and it does the same safety advocacy.”
He said either option would improve safety by separating opposing lanes of traffic.
Dumas also pointed to the project’s long-term economic potential, particularly for communities between Kenora and Ignace.
“The whole Kenora-Ignace area, that whole belt will see huge impacts for workers, development, the building of this,” he said, describing the repository as “building a mine in reverse.”
He said that construction and operation of the repository would create jobs and generate business opportunities for communities across Northwestern Ontario.
Although NOMA has not taken a formal position on the repository itself, Dumas said the association supports economic development in Northern Ontario and believes informed public discussion is important.
“We’ve been educated on the transportation of the product as well as the storage of the product,” he said. “So, we’re quite pleased with the announcement, but at the same time, we believe that our work is not done. We have to focus on the highway improvements.”
For Dumas, the project represents more than a single industrial development.
He said it is an opportunity to strengthen Northwestern Ontario’s economy while ensuring the infrastructure needed to support it is built at the same time.
