Panel Report

1.1 Review Process

In April, 1991, the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan announced a joint federal-provincial environmental review of several proposed uranium mine developments in northern Saskatchewan. The Joint Federal-Provincial Panel on Uranium Mining Developments in Northern Saskatchewan was appointed in August, 1991, to conduct a public review of the proposed developments. Included in the review was a proposal to mine the McArthur River ore body with Cameco Corporation as operator.

After consultation with interested stakeholders, the joint panel issued Guidelines for the Preparation of Environmental Impact Statements and Government Information Requests for the Cigar Lake and McArthw River Projects (Guidelines) in September of 1992.

Prior to preparation of its environmental impact statement (EIS), Cameco indicated a need to assess the nature of the McArthur River ore body at depth, and on October 29, 1992, the panel was asked to conduct a separate review of the proposed underground exploration program. Following public hearings held in December, 1992, the panel submitted a report with recommendations to the federal and provincial governments in January, 1993. In accordance with the panel’s recommendations, the exploration program was given approval to proceed.

Responding to the Guidelines, Cameco submitted its EIS for full-scale mining at McArthur River on December 11, 1995. The panel conducted an information meeting with the proponent in March of 1996 to discuss the adequacy of the information submitted in the EIS. This meeting supplemented the comments received from members of the public, from organizations and from provincial and federal government departments and agencies. To facilitate a complete understanding of the proposal, the panel requested additional information from Cameco on April 17, 1996.

When sufficient information to adequately review the project was available, the panel, as required by its terms of reference, conducted public hearings in September and October of 1996. The panel accepted locations for the community hearings in northern Saskatchewan based on the advice of the Environmental Quality Committees.¹

However, scheduling arrangements which had been confirmed with several of the communities were subsequently retracted by their chiefs and mayors a few days before the sessions were to take place. The panel rescheduled all sessions, and held hearings in Regina, Saskatoon, La Ronge, and Pinehouse. After the public hearings, the panel prepared the following report.

The governments of Saskatchewan and Canada made $75,000 available for participant funding to help the public take part effectively in the review. The funds were intended to assist recipients in reviewing the EIS and in preparing for and participating in the public hearings. The allocation of funding was done by an independent committee, with no involvement by the panel. A summary of the participant funding allocations is found in Appendix F.

1.2 Panel

1.2.1 Membership

The Joint Federal-Provincial Panel on Uranium Mining Developments in Northern Saskatchewan was appointed on August 22, 1991. Donald Lee, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Regina, is Chairperson of the panel. Other panel members are:

• James Archibald, Professor of Mining Engineering at Queen’s University;
• Richard Neal, Professor of Biology and Associate Dean (Academic) of the College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan.

Annalee Yassi, Associate Professor and Director of the Occupational and Environmental Health Unit, University of Manitoba, remained as a panel member until her resignation on August 15, 1996. John Dantouze, Vice- Chief of the Prince Albert Grand Council, served as a panel member until October 1, 1996, when he resigned.

1.2.2 Mandate

The mandate of the panel is three-fold: to review the environmental, health, safety and socio-economic impacts of the proposed McArthur River Project; to determine from its review whether the project is acceptable or unacceptable; and to provide full opportunities for public consultation and review. Complete terms of reference for the panel are contained in Appendix B.

¹ Environmental Quality Committees consist of representatives appointed by the communities that are impacted by uranium developments in Northern Saskatchewan.