Greenpeace occupies Energy Minister’s office to demand safe green energy as nuclear crisis continues
by Greenpeace.ca
Toronto — Greenpeace activists are occupying Energy Minister Brad
Duguid’s offices right now to highlight the McGuinty government’s
repeated refusal to consider safer and cheaper green alternatives to
building new reactors at the Darlington nuclear station.
"We're occupying Minister Duguid's office because he insists on
rushing ahead with new nuclear reactors instead of considering safe,
green energy options," said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a nuclear campaigner
with Greenpeace. "Duguid and the McGuinty government have repeatedly
neglected their responsibilities to protect Ontarians from accidents
like the one happening in Fukushima."
Four activists, including Stensil, are chained together inside
Duguid’s office in the Hearst Block with banners reading: “Stop
Darlington Go green” and “No nukes are safe Go green.” They locked down
shortly before 9 a.m. this morning. Outside the Hearst Block, Greenpeace
staff and volunteers are handing out information next to a model
windmill. They are also broadcasting the live stream from inside the
building on a television display.
Since 2006, the McGuinty government has remained committed to replacing
the aging Pickering nuclear station with new reactors at Darlington to
maintain nuclear at 50 per cent of electricity supply, despite the
skyrocketing cost of building new reactors. The government’s proposed
Long Term Energy Plan places a long-term cap on green power development
in 2018 at about 13 per cent of supply, with no additional green energy
infrastructure built in the 2018 – 2030 period.
“The McGuinty government’s unquestioned commitment to building new
reactors instead of green energy will impose Fukushima-like accident
risks on Ontarians for generations. That is unacceptable when green
energy is cheaper and safer than new reactors,” said Stensil.
Greenpeace says the McGuinty government has systematically avoided
any examination of alternatives to building new reactors at Darlington:
In 2006, the McGuinty government rewrote its environmental
assessment legislation so its nuclear plan would not have to undergo a
provincial assessment of alternatives to building new reactors.
Access to Information documents acquired by Greenpeace show the
government chose not to participate in the federal environmental
assessment on new reactors to avoid the threat of a “legal challenge”
that would force the review to include alternatives.
The McGuinty government instructed the federal panel not to consider green alternatives to new reactors.
Despite the cost of new reactors sky-rocketing from an estimated $7
billion in 2007 to a reported $26 billion in 2009 the government has
refused to rethink its commitment to maintaining nuclear at 50 per cent
of supply.
Today’s lock down is the second recent action by Greenpeace to
highlight the McGuinty government’s refusal to allow discussion of green
alternatives to nuclear reactors. On March 22nd, Greenpeace stopped an
environmental assessment hearing in Courtice on new reactors at
Darlington.
Earlier this month, Stensil visited the Chernobyl nuclear station in the Ukraine. To mark the 25th
anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Greenpeace has opened a photo
exhibit of images from Chernobyl at the Hotshot Art Gallery, 181 Augusta
Avenue, Kensington Market.
Greenpeace and other organizations will hold a candle light vigil April 26 at the Hearst Block to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster and to support the people of Japan.
