Mayor: Manitoba should consider nuclear

11 December 2007

[CBC News, 10 December] A local mayor has called for the Canadian province of Manitoba to consider building a nuclear power plant, and has set up a working group to develop a proposal to bring nuclear generation to the region. Blair Skinner is mayor of Pinawa, a community of about 1500 residents and the location of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd's (AECL's) Whiteshell nuclear research and testing laboratories, currently being decommissioned after over 35 years of operation. According to Skinner, the cost of building a nuclear reactor - including full capital costs, waste disposal and end-of-life decommissioning - would be comparable to the cost of a new hydro plant. He also voiced his opinion that nuclear power is more environmentally friendly than building a new hydroelectric plant. Manitoba is in the centre of Canada between Ontario and Saskatchewan. Canada currently generates about 15% of its electricity from 18 nuclear reactors.

Further information

WNA's Canada'sUranium Production & Nuclear Power information paper

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