The Green Party responded to the request about their position regarding the license renewal of the Pickering Power Plant:
Priyan De Silva
Green Party, Scarborough Rouge River
Question from Ontario Clean Air Alliance: “Should we close the Pickering Nuclear Station in 2018, when its license expires, to protect Scarborough families and to lower our electricity bills?”
My Response: “YES. I am strongly in support of closing the Pickering Nuclear Station in 2018 when its license expires.
At a time when energy demand is decreasing in Ontario – and is expected to do so until 2021 – it does not make sense to take the financial and environmental risk of extending the life of aging nuclear plants.
Significant nuclear accidents are happening around the world about once per decade. We’ve seen the catastrophic consequences associated with nuclear accidents. In Pickering, the aging plants are on the doorstep of Canada’s most populated region and on the shores of Lake Ontario, including my riding of Scarborough–Rouge River.
Government must act to ensure that public safety is prioritized over the needs and interests of the nuclear industry.
The nuclear industry has not finalized a comprehensive plan for dealing with nuclear waste. By extending the life of these plants, the amount of dangerous nuclear waste continues to grow. Whatever method is chosen for long-term storage of waste, OPG is unfairly placing the burden to monitor this waste on future generations.
Nuclear is an inflexible source of base-load power that removes incentives for conservation, efficiency or more affordable and flexible sources of power. Committing billions to nuclear will hurt recent strides in developing other more affordable, reliable and safer alternative sources of energy, including renewables, and hamper our ability to take advantage of new, emerging technologies.”
