rabble.ca Canadian federal election blog

Uranium moratorium – not more mines

By Andrea Harden-Donahue

Thomas d ’Aquino, head of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), must be pleased as punch to hear Harper’s latest statement promising to open up foreign investment for the airline industry and uranium mining. These were key recommendations of a June 2008 report, “Compete to Win,” commissioned by the federal government. Quoted in The Globe and Mail in reference to the report, d ’Aquino comments, “This is sweet music to our ears…It really is a phenomenal blueprint for taking Canada into the 21st century.”

No big surprise here. Compete to Win mirrors the intentions of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), which in turn, is almost a word-for-word replica of the CCCE’s North American Security and Prosperity Initiative. It is part of a deep integration agenda that seeks to erode policies and legislation protecting public interest in the name of free-market ideals like deregulation, liberalization and privatization. “We are a party of free enterprise, free markets and free trade,” Harper said.

So what’s the big deal? Let’s take the example of uranium mining. Canada has treated uranium mining differently from other types of mining in terms of foreign ownership because of safety concerns. There are also concerns about uranium being sold and used to make nuclear fuel and weapons. The proposed increase in foreign ownership will likely lead to more foreign investment and more uranium mining in Canada. With the stipulation that Canadian companies be offered reciprocal rights in other countries, this change also provides Canadian mining corporations such as Cameco Corp., more opportunities for investment in contributing to the exploding growth of uranium industries globally.

Uranium mining is environmentally and socially destructive. The exploration and mining process threaten to contaminate surrounding environment and water sources. Reputable scientists have linked uranium exploration and mining to rises in cancer and other diseases in neighbouring communities. Across the country people are challenging new uranium mining sites, many of which are on or near First Nations land. Bob Lovelace, a Queen’s University lecturer and former Ardoch Algonquin chief, spent three and a half months in jail after refusing to follow a court order requiring protesters to stay away from a proposed uranium mine site on Ardoch Algonquin First Nation traditional territory.

We don’t need more uranium mines; we need a moratorium on uranium mines. We don’t need more pro free-market promises from our leaders. We do need sound public policies that protect Canadian’s interests and our environment.

Andrea Harden-Donahue is the Energy Campaigner for the Council of Canadians.