Canadian churches protest at uranium mining expansion

Monday, 16th March 2009. 12:03pmBy: George Conger.

The Anglican bishops of Saskatchewan have joined their Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Ukrainian Catholic brethren in protesting against government plans to expand uranium mining in the prairie province, and permit the construction of a privately owned nuclear power plant.

In a joint statement released on Feb 26, the Anglican bishops of Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle questioned whether the government had fully studied the environmental risks of nuclear development in the province.

A government-appointed panel is expected to release a report this month encouraging “value-added" initiatives to expand the uranium industry. Saskatchewan is the world’s largest producer of uranium ore and last year a private company, Bruce Power, began work on a feasibility study for building a nuclear generating station.

Before any decision is taken, the bishops said it was “critical that any recommendations be made only after full and open consultation with the people of this province.”

They noted that “Christian churches affirm that God created the earth and that God continues to establish and preserve a just and ordered life for all creation.

Human beings are part of the vast ecosystem of the planet.”

However, “Choices made by human beings must respect God's creation in its careful interrelationship of earth, water, air and all living things.

Exploiting the earth's resources without regard for the consequences is sinful against God and God's creation,” the bishops argued.

While they recognized the “need for urgent action” to combat global warming, “technology and economic development, including mining and power generation, must be subject to critical reflection in light of the impact that such actions have on people and the environment in the present and into the future,” the bishops said.

Environmental concerns have prompted British Colombia, Nova Scotia and the Labrador Inuit territory of Nunatsiavut to enact a moratorium on uranium mining, while in 2008 New Brunswick imposed stricter guidelines on uranium mining.

Jim Harding, author of Canada's Deadly Secret: Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear System, told the Canadian Press the concerns about uranium mining were well-founded.

"If I lived in an area where they were doing uranium mining, based on what I know about toxicity, lifespan and environmental health and increased risks, I'd move," he said.