New Democrats call on Minister Raitt to explain Chalk River nuclear leak

OTTAWA – Canada’s New Democrats are demanding answers in the wake of revelations that a leak at the Chalk River nuclear facility led to radioactive water being dumped into the Ottawa River.

“Minister Raitt has some serious explaining to do,” said New Democratic Natural Resources Critic Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley), “Minister Raitt either knew about the leak and didn’t bother informing the public, or, didn’t know about the leak – I’m not sure which is worse. Either way, the Minister has let the people of Canada down.”

Conflicting reports about when Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) informed the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) about the leak has led to even more uncertainty around how this incident was handled.

Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) says his constituents are concerned about the leak, “People in my riding are very concerned about this leak. They want to know why the government said nothing for over a month,” said Dewar. “This does not give the people living along the Ottawa River confidence that this government is looking out for their safety.”

New Democrats are calling on the Minister of Natural Resources to immediately release all details regarding the leak, any potential health effects, and what precautions are now in place to prevent a similar accident from happening again.

For Cullen the principle is pretty simple, “Canadians have the right to know when radioactive water is dumped into their water.”