Lanark group seeks to stop threat of uranium leaching in Eastern Ontario's water supply

by Donna Dillman

Kudos to members of the Lanark Highlands Council in Lanark, Ontario, for their unanimous support of a resolution to ask the province to place a moratorium on uranium exploration and mining in Eastern Ontario and to review the archaic laws that allow prospectors to stake claims without the landowners' consent. I challenge all Municipal Councils to step up to the plate to support this effort. Letters of support can be sent to John Kittle, P.O. Box 1050, Snow Road, ON, K0H 2R0.

Mining companies have staked over 30,000 acres of private and Crown lands for uranium exploration in the Mississippi watershed, north of Sharbot Lake and east Bon Echo/Crotch Lake, upriver of Canada's National Capital putting over a million people at risk should uranium leach into the water. The Ardoch Algonquin and Shabot Obaadjiwan, with the support of hundreds of non-natives, continue to hold off the exploration companies with their claim over the disputed territory. For this peaceful standoff to succeed, they need your help.

What can one person do, you might well ask? Currently, local residents are providing supplies and food to the First Nations who are there 24/7. To receive regular updates from the Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU), to donate, to volunteer your time, energy and skills or to find out what supplies are needed currently and where you can drop them off, contact uraniumnews@mail.ccamu.ca.

In adding her name to those calling for an immediate moratorium on uranium mining in Canada, and specifically in the counties of Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, noted that her opposition is "rooted in her concern for human health and particularly for the gene pool on which our species survival depends." Frank de Jong, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario, believes this issue important enough to warrant a visit and has planned a meeting with concerned individuals at the Robertsville site. It is hoped that the other party leaders and particularly Premier McGuinty and Prime Minister Harper, or their representatives, will follow their lead.

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