For the second time, a decision on the proposed DGR in Bruce County has been delayed.
Former Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq had already pushed the deadline back to the first week of December from a September date. Earlier this year the Joint Review Panel finished its report and gave the thumbs up. But now the Liberal government, coming off an election win in October, is delaying the decision until March 1.
OPG wants to be able to store low to intermediate levels of nuclear waste near the Bruce Power site but it needs the environment minister's approval before the project goes any further.
There are many objectors to the project including municipalities in Canada and the U.S.
"We were actually anticipating this decision," says Beverly Fernandez, a spokesperson from Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump, which is one of the groups opposing the DGR. "The government is new and took office not long ago. And this is a decision that has tremendous impact."
Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb was going to petition newly appointed Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna to approve the project based on the science that has been presented.
On the other side of the discussion, a letter signed by 65 public interest groups asking McKenna to halt the process was sent in last week.
