Love North Western Ontario

I am adding my voice to the many other voices in opposition to this dangerous plan to dump high level nuclear waste in Northwestern Ontario.  As a long time resident and someone very active in opposition, this area is very near and dear to my heart.  I love our wilderness and the wildness you can feel in every pore of your body and breathe in from the cool fresh air.  Smell the forest and feel the refreshing and life giving energy from swimming in the many lakes.  In fact we are part of a very large watershed area that reaches Lake Winnipeg from the south travelling along the Northern United States and also west into Lake of the Woods which connects to Lake Winnipeg and ultimately reaching the Nelson River into Hudsons Bay.  We are all connected in this very sensitive area that needs to be protected at all costs.  

We are the northern part of the province which should be considered a treasure for water resources and wilderness. In this day and age and always water cannot be taken for granted.  Without clean fresh water we have nothing. 

The area south of the proposed dgr target area has been declared The Heart of the Continent, by National Geographic.  This area includes the Turtle River-White Otter Lake Provincial Park area, Quetico Provincial Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (5.5 million acres). A transboundary conservation area.

This is an area for ecotourism, indeed Atikokan just north of Quetico Provincial Park is the canoeing capital of Canada.  I have treasured memories of canoing in this area on the lakes and rivers into White Otter castle.  When you are alone and immersed with just the sounds of nature, the paddle in the water, you are invigorated with a deep sense of feeling alive, calmness and wholeness. You can feel peaceful camping next to the ground and listening to the beautiful sounds of the loon in the evening and in the early morning.

THis is what this area means to me and many others who have experienced this as well.  We met 3 lady kayakers who traveled from their Boundary Water area with a permit to enter our area. They felt very appreciative with a sense of protecting their experience.  It is less crowded on our side and there is more freedom.  There is a group that fiercely protect their boundary waters on the states side They do not have as much of this wilderness area as we do.  They are not taking their area for granted.  They treasure it and so should we treasure ours.  This ia not an area for nuclear waste which can escape and damage our waters and environment with devastating effects.  We are on guard for this.  People should  always err on the side of caution.

I have researched nuclear information from around the world and learned from people that have expert knowledge in this field.  My overwhelming understanding is about the dangers of this experiment, and the scientific knowledge that explains it. 

There are endangered species in the area like rare dragon flies and sturgeon which have a spawning ground in the Rainy River area. In fact I believe in the Rights of Nature and our water sheds and rivers have a right to have their voices heard and be protected. There should be no more poisoning. How many times does it have to happen before we listen and learn. I grew up when the mercury poisoning was happening to the Wabigoon River. We found out later about it and how the people of Grassy Narrows were suffering from the health effects. 

I have walked many miles with others from our region against the nuclear waste. We care about each other and protecting our area together. We walked past all the lakes and rivers of our wilderness. Sometimes they were high with the rain and there was flooding in some areas and towns. There is a great deal of water. Water is life.