Bedrock Is Quakey

Bedrock is Quakey

Most people labour under the misconception that bedrock is solid. It is not.

A federal government website, Natural Resources Canada, keeps a running tally of earthquakes in Canada. It recorded 2000 seismic events in the past year.  Ontario is not immune.

The NRC has this tally today, February 3^rd:

Recent Significant Earthquake Reports

• 2025-11-15: M=3.6 - 41 km NNE of Moosonee, ON - felt (https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/recent/2025/20251115.0958/index-en.php)
• 2025-10-24: M=3.5 - 5 km NW of Lively, ON - felt - Mining-related event (https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/recent/2025/20251024.1520/index-en.php)
• 2025-10-19: M=2.9 - 5 km NW of Lively, ON - felt - Mining-related event (https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/recent/2025/20251020.0046/index-en.php)
• 2025-10-17: M=3.2 - 47 km NE of Wawa, ON - felt - Mining-related event (https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/recent/2025/20251017.1046/index-en.php)
• 2025-06-14: M=2.1 - 13 km E of Sudbury, ON (https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/recent/2025/20250614.1532/index-en.php)

Each seismic event means that the bedrock is fractured.  Even my poor math skills can compute that over centuries, let alone over millennia, the so-called solid bedrock is a mishmash.

Even Southern Ontario experiences earthquakes: The history of earthquakes that have shaken Ontario (https://www.blogto.com/city/2026/01/history-earthquakes-have-shaken-ontario/) . A mild earthquake that rattled parts of southern and central Ontario  (https://www.blogto.com/city/2026/01/earthquake-ontario/)on Tuesday might just have you wondering how often this part of the province experiences seismic activity.

Earthquakes Canada recorded the magnitude 3.7 quake just before 11 p.m., which was centred roughly 23 kilometres southeast of Orillia and 99 kilometres northeast of Toronto. Although there were no reports of damage, the tremor was "lightly felt" in portions of the region and served as a reminder that Ontario isn't completely immune to seismic events.

Ignace and the region are not immune from seismic events. The proposal for a deep geological repository for nuclear waste is flawed. An event may not occur today, or ten years from now, or centuries from now, but an event will occur. That is certain. The mildest result may be radioactive groundwater contaminating water courses for thousands of square kilometres.

I am an advocate for a surface or near-surface repository which can be readily monitored and accessed.

It’s time for the DGR proposal to go back to the drawing board.