A united group of protesters drove almost 500 kilometres from northern Alberta to the steps of the legislature Nov. 19 in opposition to a proposal by Energy Alberta Corporation to build the province’s first nuclear power plant. Approximately 150 people, including families, rallied at the Alberta Legislature to protest the proposed construction of a nuclear reactor on private land near Lac Cardinal, about 30 kilometres from Peace River. That included a group of about 20 people from the Peace River area, who said their goal was to raise awareness about the dangerous impact of nuclear energy. “We want the legislators and the people of Alberta to know that there are more than 1,300 people in the Alberta Peace Country area opposed to the construction of a nuclear power plant in our area,” says Brenda Brochu, president of the Peace River Environmental Society, which presented a petition to their MLA, Frank Oberle. “Our members have looked very carefully at the proposal put forward by Energy Alberta Corp. We believe that such a development could destroy other industries and activities already established in the area. It could also cause irreparable harm to human health and the health of all other species.” Denis Sauvageau (who shares the title as vice-president with Diane Plowman of Northern Sunrise County) also took part in the demonstration, which generated repeated chants of “No Candu.” He says the group branched off into two groups to meet with the Liberal opposition and New Democratic Party caucus before presenting their concerns to Hector Goudreau, Minister of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture, Mel Knight, Minister of Energy, Rob Renner, Environment Minister, and Peace River MLA Frank Oberle. The discussions highlighted a number of environmental concerns, ranging in nature from water issues in relation to the Grimshaw aquifer, the impact on the lake and waterfowl as well as the agricultural sector and waste disposal. “The nuclear industry has been operating for 50 years now and still doesn’t know what to do with the first cupful or radioactive waste produced,” Sauvageau says. “When they go to bed at night they’re still hoping for the nuclear fairy to show up and provide them with a solution to that dilemma.” He also points out that as humans were anything but perfect, adding that it’s human nature to make mistakes. “Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes,” he says, making reference to the nuclear mistakes of the past. “The Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, for example, states that over 75 per cent of nuclear incidents reported (including Chernobyl and Three Mile Island) were the direct result of human error.” The magnitude and scope of the Chernobyl disaster, the size of the affected population, and the long-term consequences made it, by far, the worst industrial global disaster on record. “Nobody can guarantee that another accident of Chernobyl dimensions or worse won’t happen tomorrow” Trudi Keillor, co-chair of Citizens Against Nuclear Development, which is comprised mainly of landowners living near the proposed site in Grimshaw, agrees. “We didn’t ask for and don’t want a nuclear facility in the north Peace area, in Alberta or in Western Canada,” she said matter-of-factly. Public opposition to the proposed nuclear energy project has continued to grow throughout the Peace Country and in the rest of Alberta since the company unveiled formal plans to construct a nuclear reactor just west of Peace River at Lac Cardinal earlier this year. Residents in the region, as well as throughout Alberta, feeling concerned over issues of nuclear waste, damage to water sources and aquifers, and the health and safety of their families and those in their community. Calgary-based Energy Alberta Corp. embarked on the long licensing process in August. Pending approvals, the $6-billion project is slated to produce 2,200 megawatts of electricity when it opens in 2017.