Saugeen Ojibway Nation Says It Was Shut Out of Canada's Nuclear Strategy
The Nation whose territory hosts the Bruce nuclear site says Ottawa never consulted it on a plan for up to 10 new reactors — and that its consent is required.
The Saugeen Ojibway Nation says the federal government wrote Canada’s new Nuclear Energy Strategy without involving the Nation whose territory hosts the country’s largest nuclear facilities.
In a statement released July 7, the SON Joint Chiefs and Councils said they were disappointed and frustrated by the lack of consultation on the Strategy, which Ottawa released June 22.
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson unveiled the plan, which sets out to build up to 10 new large-scale reactors across Canada — two under construction by 2035, five more planned or under development by 2040 and at least one outside Ontario.
SON says it was not part of developing that Strategy, despite what it calls the significant impacts nuclear development has already had, and stands to have, on its Land, Water and People.
What the Strategy could mean for the Bruce site
The federal plan could include the proposed Bruce C project, an expansion of up to 4,800 megawatts at the existing Bruce Power site in the Municipality of Kincardine, within SON territory.
Bruce Power submitted the project to a federal impact assessment in 2024. The assessment is now in its impact-statement phase and is expected to run to roughly 2028. If built, Bruce C would make the site among the largest nuclear stations in the world.
SON has been taking part in that project-level assessment. Its objection is narrower and specific: that the national Strategy setting the direction for new builds was developed without it.
A letter to a Prime Minister who had no role
SON says its Joint Chiefs and Councils wrote to the Prime Minister before the Strategy’s release to raise concerns about the lack of early engagement.
The Strategy document itself states that Prime Minister Mark Carney was not shown the Strategy and had no role in developing it, which government officials have attributed to the ethics screen he holds over certain assets. Owen Sound Current has not independently reviewed SON’s letter or any federal reply.
SON says its territory already hosts Canada’s largest nuclear facilities and stores most of the country’s nuclear waste, accumulated over decades without the Nation’s consent. It warns that treating nuclear energy as a pillar of national industrial strategy risks repeating a pattern of putting industry priorities ahead of SON’s rights and stewardship responsibilities.
Consultation language versus accountability
The Strategy commits to upholding Indigenous rights and Crown consultation requirements, and states elsewhere that it aims to increase Indigenous equity participation in nuclear projects.
SON says that language does not explain how those rights will be protected in practice, and that commitments without clear actions and accountability are not meaningful.
Chippewas of Nawash Ogimaa Kwe Veronica Smith said Canada and Ontario cannot continue to treat SON territory as “an energy sacrifice zone — an area where the Land, Water and People bear the risks while the benefits flow elsewhere.”
Chippewas of Saugeen Acting Chief Randall Kahgee said SON members are central to decisions on major nuclear development. SON leadership and its Environment Office say they continue to press their position in discussions with Canada and Ontario, and that SON’s consent is required for any new nuclear development in or affecting its territory.
Owen Sound Current has asked Natural Resources Canada for a response to SON’s statement and will update this story.
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