Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the Ontario Power Generation wants to dump abandoned radioactive nuclear waste next to the Great Lakes. It cannot say that this waste will not leak, nor has it considered any other options. Burying nuclear waste has a 100% failure rate. Burying the last set of nuclear waste actually caught on fire.

This madness has to stop and at the risk of the health and safety of future generations, including my daughter and many other youth who are visiting Ottawa today, we need to say “no”.

This is on the minister’s desk right now. Will he stop the plan to dump nuclear waste down a hole, walk away and leave it for future generations?

 

Mr. Jonathan Wilkinson (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the minister is restoring the confidence in environmental assessments in ensuring that decisions are based on the best available scientific evidence. As the hon. member knows, this is under active consideration. The minister had asked for an extension to consider alternative sites. We are going through that process, but everyone can rest assured the decision will be based on science and data. We will make those decisions in a responsible and sound environmental manner.