Reviewing Section 15: Health, Social & Economic Context
This article is part of a series exploring the views and perspectives of youth, artists and community members working with the Melgund Integrated Nuclear Impact Assessment Project. This initiative is a climate entrepreneurship and arts-based community recreation program, developed through community consultation, engagement participation in the integrated impact assessment process for the NWMO’s proposed Deep Geological Repository for nuclear waste fuel.
What is Proposed
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has submitted a preliminary report outlining the social, cultural, economic, and health context for the proposed project area. As detailed in the Initial Project Description, the proponent asserts that their current baseline reporting—based largely on a May 2023 data cut-off and Western scientific perspectives—is “comprehensive and sufficient” to support the initial assessment of impacts. The study area broadly utilizes the Kenora Census Division (population 66,000) as a reference, while focusing specific data collection on municipalities such as Ignace and Dryden.
Underlying Assumptions
Our review of the text identifies several critical assumptions made by the proponent regarding the human environment:
- Assumption of Municipal Proxy: The report assumes that data focused on municipal contexts is adequate for characterizing the region, implicitly treating unincorporated areas as statistical outliers.
- Assumption of Low Density Impact: The text assumes that because the project site is in an area of “very low population density,” the social impacts are inherently minimized.
- Assumption of Data Sufficiency: The proponent assumes that unverified data, which has not yet been validated by First Nation and Métis communities, is sufficient to support a risk-informed assessment at this stage.
- Assumption of Spatial Smoothing: The report assumes that averaging impacts across the massive Kenora Census Division provides an accurate reflection of the risks faced by immediate neighbours.
Community Assessment
The community analysis highlights a significant disconnect between the proponent’s “comprehensive” claims and the lived reality of the Local Services Board (LSB) of Melgund. By prioritizing a “municipal context,” the baseline assessment systematically marginalizes the communities of Dyment and Borups Corners, which are located approximately 10 to 13 kilometers from the proposed site.
The use of the Kenora Census Division as the primary study area acts as a form of “spatial smoothing,” diluting the acute risks faced by the project’s closest neighbours within a population of 66,000. Furthermore, the description of the area as having “very low population density” minimizes the human presence in the region. For residents of the LSB, this language frames their community as an empty space suitable for industrial use, rather than a distinct social environment sensitive to stigma and industrialization.
Additionally, the reliance on “community centroids” to calculate distances for Borups Corners and Dyment—due to a lack of defined spatial boundaries in the proponent’s model—demonstrates a lack of technical rigor regarding the unincorporated areas that will be most affected by the repository.
Path Forward
To ensure a fair and accurate impact assessment, the following corrective measures are recommended:
- Prioritize Verification: The proponent must immediately verify baseline data with the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and other Treaty #3 communities before finalizing conclusions on impact significance.
- Localized Study for LSBs: A specific socio-economic study must be conducted for the LSB of Melgund to capture the unique governance, social cohesion, and economic vulnerabilities of unincorporated residents, moving beyond the “municipal focus.”
- Update Data Sets: The data cut-off should be updated to reflect 2024-2025 conditions to capture recent economic trends that 2021 Census data may miss.
- Address Stigma Effects: The assessment must expand to include analysis of potential property value collapse and social stigma in unincorporated areas where residents lack a municipal tax base to buffer economic shifts.
About the Integrated Assessment Process
The federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) has formally launched the integrated impact assessment process for the proposed Deep Geological Repository (DGR) for Canada’s Used Nuclear Fuel Project, a major national infrastructure initiative led by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).
The proposed underground repository is designed to permanently contain and isolate used nuclear fuel in a secure geological formation. Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and the Township of Ignace have been selected as host communities for the project. The site is located approximately 21 kilometres southeast of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and 43 kilometres northwest of Ignace, Ontario, near Highway 17.
According to project materials, the repository would provide permanent storage for approximately 5.9 million bundles of used nuclear fuel. The full lifecycle of the project is expected to span roughly 160 years, including site preparation, construction, operations, closure, and long-term monitoring.
Integrated Federal Review
Major nuclear projects in Canada are subject to an integrated assessment process jointly led by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). This “one project, one review” approach is intended to streamline regulatory oversight while ensuring rigorous evaluation of environmental, health, social, economic, and Indigenous rights impacts.
Under this framework, IAAC oversees the impact assessment requirements under the Impact Assessment Act, while the CNSC regulates nuclear safety under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. The CNSC will issue the initial site preparation licence and manage all subsequent nuclear licensing for the project’s duration.
The integrated assessment also includes a focus on potential impacts on Indigenous Peoples, including rights, land use, cultural practices, health, and socio-economic conditions. Where potential adverse effects are identified, the process is intended to identify mitigation measures to reduce or avoid harm.
Public Comment Period Now Open
The first public comment period for the project is currently open and will run until February 4, 2026. During this phase, the public is invited to provide feedback on the Summary of the Initial Project Description submitted by the NWMO. Submissions received during this period will inform IAAC’s summary of issues, which will guide the next stages of the impact assessment. All comments submitted become part of the public project record and are posted to the federal Impact Assessment Registry.
This plain-language summary is provided by ECO-STAR North and Art Borups Corners to support public engagement.
Disclaimer: The views and perspectives expressed in this article are solely those of the independent arts program led by ECO-STAR North and Art Borups Corners. They do not reflect the official positions of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) or the Government of Canada.
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