The Council of the Mississauga First Nation motioned and passed Band Council Resolution #06-24-25 at the duly convened meeting of April 24, 2024 in the Province of Ontario.
DO HEREBY RESOLVE:
WHEREAS,
1. The Blind River uranium refinery owned and operated by Cameco is located on lands which since AD 800 have been the site of vibrant Indigenous occupation and life, including as the ancestral lands of the people of Mississauga First Nation (MFN), and MFN’s access to these lands and waters has been barred by virtue of Cameco’s nuclear operations at the site;
2. Mississauga First Nation has never consented to the lands being used for nuclear activities nor as disposal grounds for radioactive wastes and there continues to be no equitable redress for this loss of access to our ancestral lands located on the Mississauga Delta;
3. Cameco proposes to consolidate and dispose of all waste from its three Ontario-based facilities at the Blind River Refinery and construct a radioactive waste ‘storage cell;’
4. Cameco and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission have denied our requests for disclosure of all information detailing any decommissioning plans or waste disposal activities proposed for the site;
5. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration) states:
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a. Article 28 (1), Indigenous peoples have the right to redress, by means that can include restitution or, when this is not possible, just, fair and equitable compensation, for the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned or otherwise occupied or used, and which have been confiscated, taken, occupied, used or damaged without their free, prior and informed consent
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b. Article 29 (2), States shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed consent
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c. Article 32 (2), States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT we, the Mississauga First Nation Chief and Council:
1. RECOGNIZE that:
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a. the existence of nuclear operations on our ancestral lands has contributed to our loss of culture and spiritual traditions, and has been detrimental to our health and well-being of our First Nation
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b. Cameco has materially benefitted and continues to benefit, from the operations at Blind River, which remains the world’s largest uranium refinery
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c. The proposal to now site radioactive wastes on our lands would perpetuate an existing environmental injustice and amount to environmental racism.
2. AFFIRM that our Treaty rights provide that our way of life, rights to hunt, fish, gather resources and our livelihood should not be interfered with. We continue to exercise our Indigenous rights as guardians of these lands and our authority to govern our lands and resources flows from people of the Mississauga First Nation according to the culture, tradition, customs and laws of our community.
3. DECLARE our opposition to any future use of the Blind River refinery site that would see these lands being used as a disposal site for radioactive wastes. Any disposal of radioactive waste in our lands will leave us without the meaningful ability to exercise our Treaty rights. The preservation of these lands and their return to their former state – prior to the siting of the refinery – is essential to our ability to exercise our Indigenous and Treaty rights.
4. DEMAND that any government or private body, upon becoming aware of the potential for impacts to MFN’s lands and rights:
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a. Immediately commence meaningful, collaborative engagement wherein all information regarding projects and plans is disclosed, in full, such that MFN can independently assess the risks of any proposal
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b. Seek our free, prior, and informed consent before the deployment of any nuclear projects, including the transport, storage, and disposal of any hazardous materials in our lands and territories.
5. CALL ON the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to provide funding to support MFN in conducting community-led studies which assess impacts of nuclear operations and radionuclide exposures on our health, wellness, lands and waters.
6. COMMIT to bring this resolution forward to the Government of Canada to apprise them of our position and in keeping with UN Declaration Article 32(3) seek fair redress for any environment, cultural and spiritual impacts caused by the nuclear operations at the Blind River refinery.