'Start their life over': Alberta county divided after vote o
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2025 4:14 pm'Start their life over': Alberta county divided after vote over planned nuclear plant
QUOTE: "Amid the sprawling canola fields, white spruce and jack pine trees, fireweed and goldenrods of northern Alberta, Pat McNamara is having a case of nuclear déjà vu. Two decades ago, he lived in Port Hope, Ont."
Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press - Times Colonist - November 15, 2025
EXCERPT: "Two decades ago, he lived in Port Hope, Ont., northeast of Toronto, in a community dealing with decades of nuclear ground contamination, including at his own daughter’s schoolyard.
He has since moved to the County of Northern Lights, halfway between Edmonton and the Northwest Territories.
When he learned earlier this year that residents, notably farmers, hadn't heard about a proposed nuclear plant for the area -- similar to one first proposed 15 years ago -- he wanted to spread the word that when things go wrong, the damage is generational.
"These people are building up those properties and those farms to hand down to their kids and grandkids," McNamara said in an interview. "They're not going to be able to do that."
While he got word to the public, his Northern Action Alliance pushed for the county's council to hold a vote.
His efforts succeeded last month when a non-binding plebiscite showed more than half of voters opposed the proposal for a two-towered plant, the first of its kind in Alberta, capable of powering 4.8 million homes.
A roughly equal number of voters also said they wish to learn more about the pros and cons. . . . "
[ https://www.timescolonist.com/national- ... t-11494528 ]
QUOTE: "Amid the sprawling canola fields, white spruce and jack pine trees, fireweed and goldenrods of northern Alberta, Pat McNamara is having a case of nuclear déjà vu. Two decades ago, he lived in Port Hope, Ont."
Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press - Times Colonist - November 15, 2025
EXCERPT: "Two decades ago, he lived in Port Hope, Ont., northeast of Toronto, in a community dealing with decades of nuclear ground contamination, including at his own daughter’s schoolyard.
He has since moved to the County of Northern Lights, halfway between Edmonton and the Northwest Territories.
When he learned earlier this year that residents, notably farmers, hadn't heard about a proposed nuclear plant for the area -- similar to one first proposed 15 years ago -- he wanted to spread the word that when things go wrong, the damage is generational.
"These people are building up those properties and those farms to hand down to their kids and grandkids," McNamara said in an interview. "They're not going to be able to do that."
While he got word to the public, his Northern Action Alliance pushed for the county's council to hold a vote.
His efforts succeeded last month when a non-binding plebiscite showed more than half of voters opposed the proposal for a two-towered plant, the first of its kind in Alberta, capable of powering 4.8 million homes.
A roughly equal number of voters also said they wish to learn more about the pros and cons. . . . "
[ https://www.timescolonist.com/national- ... t-11494528 ]