Whereas, All Treaties between Canada and the First Nations are Nation to Nation agreements which are affirmed and upheld in Section 35 (1) of Canada's Constitution Act 1982
Whereas, although most Treaties ceded land, no Treaty in Canada has ever ceded Water Rights.
Whereas the Rights of Canada's First Nations are further upheld and affirmed in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Whereas the Rights of First Nations in Canada are further affirmed, upheld, and protected under the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, (UNDRIP) 2007.
Whereas the Article 25 of the UNDRIP states that; Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.
Whereas Article 26 (2) of the UNDRIP states that; Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use,as well as those which they have otherwise acquired.
Whereas Article 29 (2) of the UNDRIP states that; 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.
Whereas Eighteen (18) First Nation communities within the boundaries of Ontario on the shores of Lake Huron have not been consulted,
Whereas Ontario Power Generation’s plan to bury low to intermediate nuclear waste in an underground repository unmonitored poses significant threat to the Spirit of the Land and Water that has sustained the life of First Nations people since time immemorial,
Whereas First Nations people of this land have the inherent right and responsibility given by the Creator to protect the lands and water and ensure the flow of life continues for future generations,
Whereas the current plan for the Deep Geological Repository will service Darlington and Pickering Nuclear, which will require transportation of nuclear waste through the traditional territories of many First Nations in Ontario without our consultation or consent and many of these territories are under dispute,
Whereas the ownership of many of the territories through which nuclear waste will pass is under dispute with First Nations people, Whereas the current plan to bury radioactive nuclear wastes leaves a burden on many future generations that are unborn and this is in conflict with the traditional teachings of the many First Nations People in Ontario,
Therefore, the undersigned implore the Ontario Power Generation and Canada to uphold the Rights of Indigenous People in Canada by respecting their rights and jurisdiction of the Great Lakes, its boundaries and water and withdraw their application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a Deep Geological Repository for low-to-intermediate nuclear waste off the shores of Lake Huron.
