ELECTION 2004

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Election Canada Results by Riding

The Day After - Regional and National Media Coverage

Federal Cabinet Announced (July 20, 2004)

Nuclear Waste Survey - Candidates' Responses

Northeastern Ontario Candidates Opposed to Nuclear Waste Burial Scheme

Hot Issues in Northeastern Ontario Northeastern Ontario Riding Profiles NGO and Issue Based Election Web Sites Political Party Web Sites Election News Sources Elections Canada

For Immediate Release
June 24, 2004 - Distributed at 12 noon

Candidates Opposed to Nuclear Waste Burial Scheme

"Each and every respondent expressed concern about the prospects of nuclear waste being buried in northern Ontario, and that's a concern that voters share across the region", said Brennain Lloyd, survey coordinator for Northwatch.

The survey was conducted by Northwatch, a regional coalition of environmental and social development organizations in northeastern Ontario. The four questions canvassed federal candidates' views on support for a full environmental assessment on each and any option being considered for the long term management of nuclear waste prior to a final decision being made, on phasing out nuclear power to avoid continued waste production; community involvement in any future decisions about transportation routes or siting of waste repositories, and  support for  a full debate in Parliament prior to the Government of Canada making its final decision on a "preferred" option for the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste.

Northwatch surveyed candidates with the Conservative, Green, Liberal and New Democratic parties in the 6 ridings in northeastern Ontario. Seventeen of the 24 candidates canvassed responded, with fifteen candidates completing the survey. Responses were received from all 6 NDP candidates, 5 of the 6 Green candidates, 3 of the 6 Liberal candidates, and only one Conservative candidate.

"We're disappointed that all the candidates didn't see this as a priority issue for voters in Northern Ontario. The federal government is going to be making an important decision on this issue 18 months from now - a decision which could kick-start the search for a nuclear dump site in northern Ontario -  and people in this region deserve to know where candidates stand" commented Lloyd.

"It's not clear whether the Conservatives are disinterested or just disorganized, but in either case it doesn't bode well for northeastern Ontario if they should manage to seize the wheels of power, given they can't manage to steer their way through a straightforward set of questions about nuclear waste."

Candidates' responses have been summarized and posted on Northwatch's web site at www.northwatch.org.

For more information please contact:

                        Brennain Lloyd                           705 497 0373

Riding	Party	Candidate	Q.1	Q.2	Q.3	Q.4	Candidate's Comments
Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing	Conservative	Blain Armstrong	R	R	R	R
Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing	Green Party	Lindsay Killen	Y	Y	Y	Y	Opposed to any long distance movement of nuclear waste; supports a rapid phase-out of nuclear power and phase-in of renewable energy sources;
Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing	Liberal	Brent St.Denis	R	R	R	R
Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing	NDP	Carol Hughes	Y	Y	Y	Y
Nickel Belt	Conservative	Michel Dupont	R	R	R	R
Nickel Belt	Green Party	Steve Lafleur	Y	Y	Y	Y	Should not be looking at northern Ontario; supports a full phaseout; Communities should have the final say; needs extensive debate in Parliament
Nickel Belt	Liberal	Ray Bonin	Y	N	Y	Y	Reliable alternative energy supplies must be in place (before a phase-out of nuclear power) to meet the needs of Ontarioans.
Nickel Belt	NDP	Claude Gravelle	R	R	R	R
Nipissing-Timiskaming	Conservative	Al McDonald	R	R	R	R	Candidate sent survey to Conservative Party Headquarters and is still waiting for a response.
Nipissing-Timiskaming	Green Party	Les Wilcox	R	R	R	R
Nipissing-Timiskaming	Liberal	Anthony Rota	Y	U	Y	Y	Opposed to burying nuclear waste in northern Ontario; would prefer to find technology to neutralize nuclear waste (in response to phase-out question); supports a full debate in Parliament but has concerns about a free vote, given the small numbers from northern Ontario.
Nipissing-Timiskaming	NDP	Dave Fluri	Y	Y	Y	Y	Supports a debate in Parliament, but affected communities need to be on side (ie. Parliament needs to take their view into account)
Sault St.Marie	Conservative	Cameron Ross	R	R	R	R
Sault St.Marie	Green Party	Julie Emmerson	Y	Y	Y	Y	Supports a full EA, which should include stopping production; committed to early phaseout, with an emphasis on energy conservation and green energy, including wind, which could create northern jobs; Opposed to any transport of nuclear waste, but supports communities having a say if they may be affected by transport or siting of a new facility; supports full debate in Parliament, but also consultation with Canadians by a Parliamentary Committee.
Sault St.Marie	Liberal	Carmen Provenzano	R	R	R	R
Sault St.Marie	NDP	Tony Martin	Y	Y	Y	Y
Sudbury	Conservative	Stephen Butcher	R	R	R	R	Response consisted of a referral to the Conservative Party web site; no information or response was available on the site or from the public inquiry line at the Conservative Party headquarters.
Sudbury	Green Party	Luke Norton	Y	Y	Y	Y	EA must be full and accurate and conducted by an independent third party; will phase out nuclear power and stop the sale of Canadian uranium for nuclear weapons programs; supports communities rights to be part of decisions that affect them.
Sudbury	Liberal	Diane Marleau	R	R	R	R
Sudbury	NDP	Gerry McIntaggart	Y	Y	Y	Y	Does not want nuclear waste in northern Ontario "period!"
Timmins-James Bay	Conservative	Andrew Van Oosten	Y	U	Y	Y
Timmins-James Bay	Green Party	Marsha Kriss	Y	Y	Y	Y	Supports an early phase-out and reliance on alternative energy sources
Timmins-James Bay	Liberal	Ray Chenier	Y	U	Y	Y
Timmins-James Bay	NDP	Charlie Angus	Y	Y	Y	Y	Supports a full debate in Parliament, but not a free vote, concern that free votes reduce party accountability

This Candidates's Survey on Nuclear Waste and Northern Ontario was distributed in hard copy (by regular mail or hand delivery) with an introductory letter and one page backgrounder on nuclear waste to each of the 24 candidates (the four main parties in the six ridings located in northeastern Ontario) on June 12^th, and was sent electronically (in email text and pdf attachment) on June 12^th and again on June 18^th. Followup phone calls were made to each candidate's campaign office on June 17^th and a final call to those who had not yet responded was made on June 22^nd. Candidates or their campaign staff were informed on June 22^nd that candidates who had not yet replied would be categorized as "refused to respond". The responses summarized in this table are those received as of June 23^rd, 2004.
 
 
 

For more information or additional details please contact Northwatch at 705 497 0373.

Liberal Party Response (Received June 24, 2004 - 2:28 p.m.) pdf

NDP Party Response (Received June 24, 2004 - 2:37 p.m.) word

Northwatch's Candidate Survey on Nuclear Waste and Northern Ontario (pdf)
 

Nukes                      (link directly to Candidate Survey on Nuclear Waste in Northeastern Ontario)
Forests
Mining
Missile Defence     Link to Summary of Nipissing-Timiskaming Candidates' Response to Peace and Security Election Survey
                               Link directly to North Bay Peace Alliance Candidate Survey on Peace and Security)

Planet Vote Canada
Vote for a Change.ca - A Voter Education Campaign for Peace and Justice
Equal Voice - Women in Election 2004
Vote for Equality - Disabled Women's Network
Egale Canada
Canadian Campaign to Oppose Missile Defence
Canadian Breast Cancer Network's Adopt A Riding 2004 Federal Election Campaign
Environment Voters
Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout 2000 Survey Results

Sierra Club of Canada - Vote 2004

Conservative Party
Green Party
Liberal Party
New Democratic Party

CBC - CanadaVotes

CTV Election 2004
 

Elections Canada

Elections Canada Listing of Political Parties

Commissioner's Report on Changes to Electoral Boundaries / Reduction of Ridings in Northern Ontario         Map of 2004 Electoral Boundaries

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