Gov't says 'No' to vote on uranium
Natural Resources minister won't budge as Tories push for plebiscite
FREDERICTON - The Liberal government has quashed the idea of holding a referendum to gauge public support for uranium exploration and mining.
The Opposition Tories want government to put the question of uranium exploration to a vote and in the legislature yesterday called on the Liberals to hold a referendum.
But Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault wouldn't budge on government's position, saying uranium exploration makes good business sense.
"We've debated this issue on many occasions in the legislature and they asked for a moratorium -- we're not going to have a moratorium on exploration of uranium in New Brunswick -- and we're not going to move forward on the referendum either," he said.
Arseneault reiterated government's message that there are safeguards in place to protect the environment and health of citizens.
He also said government needs to do a better job of communicating and pointed to information sessions that have been planned for next month.
"This is not a political issue, this is an issue where we have to talk about the facts and let's get the experts at the table," he said.
There are four companies exploring for uranium in the province as prices have increased recently.
"We have a real nice lifestyle here, we have a good quality of life, therefore with all the potential risks, (residents would) rather not sacrifice their potential health for a little bit more money for the province," said Moncton Crescent Tory MLA John Betts.
Uranium mining has become a growing issue in New Brunswick where many homeowners, including those in Metro Moncton, are worried that their property is being staked and that watersheds could be affected.
Municipalities have called on the province for a ban and a series of public meetings held across the province have prompted hundreds of citizens to express their concerns.
Earlier this week, 30 environmental groups joined forces to call on government to immediately halt uranium exploration.
"A lot of people in all walks of life... just don't think we need the potential health hazard here," said Betts. "They're basically choosing their health over wealth."
A large number of New Brunswickers are informing themselves about the issue, he added. "I thought maybe 15 to 20 tree-huggers would be there, quite frankly," he said of a recent information meeting in Moncton. "What I found was the place was packed and they were just people from all walks of life."
More The News
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
Comments (10)
All comments are subject to the site Terms of Use. For a full commenting tutorial click here.
Our editorial team relies on filtering technology and our visitor community to identify inappropriate comments. In the event that a site user has submitted offensive content that has evaded our filter, please select the option to Flag As Inappropriate presented within the comment. Thank you for helping to keep this site clean.
Nice of you to be hearing about our disagreement to Uranium activities in N.B but what about listening to the people who have elected you and are paying your wages?
You have stubbornly refused to effect a moratoriun on Uranium even if your "specialists" like Sam McEwan and Ron Shaw are sating they really don't know much about its negative health and environmental impacts(and that was said last night) WHAT DO YOU THINK A MORATORIUM IS FOR?
Oh that's right, your mandate is to encourage mining activities at all cost and nothing else... so don't try to convince us about the
"safeguards" in place to protect our health and environment, you have no idea what those are and you're certainly not the person to adress these concerns, it's clear you're not educated on these issues and it's not your mandate to do so.
It's time we hear from the Health and Environment departments and not the people working in favour of the mining industries; wrong kind of specialists.
" The total value in today's dollars of historical exploration work carried out by INCO in southern N.B. is approximatively 3 700 000$ made up of airborme geophysics(450 000$), ground geophysics & geochemistry ( 2 700 000$) and drilling(550 000$)" (wonderful thing this access to information law!)
In other words the amount of 4M the DNR is flashing around in their good business deal has probably long been spent in the province and will generate no more economy.
Thank you Mr. Arseneault for all the misinformation.
please feel free to correct me because I hope I'm wrong.
Why are we hearing about a NO this morning? this smells of corruption...
YOU ARE THREATNING THE LIVES OF THE TAX PAYERS OF THIS PROVINCE, GET OUT BEFORE WE THROUGH YOU OUT!
At this point they all deserve to loose their jobs, they are not working in the best interest of N.B.;their fore they should all be FIRED!
We keep buying their empty lies at each election and we keep jumping in the same mud hole each and every time. I've never been an NDP supporter myself but throughout the years with what I've seen done and whats still happening now. I've completly losed faith in both goverments Liberals and Conservatives. Were long over due for an honest new goverment, one who sees the future of the Country and it's good health.
justice, and right here at home, in good old N.B., we have one of the
most dictatorial regimes in recent times. It's nothing new, in so
many ways, but to look south of the border. Still, as 9/11 was an
inside job, one might suggest that this uranium thing is also something
of an inside job, since the power brokers of this province are mum
on this one, and when have the powers that be allowed for outside
competition of this magnitude and potential destructiveness? On the
other hand, has anyone else noticed how some of our wealthiest families
have been moving away, oh, to such places as Toronto in recent years, in effect, having polluted our province in their own highly destructive ways?
N.B. is a have-not province, so we are told, but geologists have long known that the province is rife with minerals. Safe or not, Graham and co. are gung ho. We lose. They give themselves raises, with options to move!