Abandoned Mines Issue Surfaces in the Commons

Abandoned Mines Issue Surfaces in the Commons

Friday, October 22, 2004 at 14:58

The MP for Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River raised the issued of northern Saskatchewan’s abandoned uranium mines in the House of Commons this morning.

Jeremy Harrison told the House that the Lorado and Gunnar mines need to be cleaned up and the federal government needs to act.

Harrison noted that “the mines have sat abandoned for nearly forty years and, over time, millions of tons of unconfined radioactive tailings have leached into Lake Athabasca.”

Harrison adds that since January, nothing has happened since the Minister of Natural Resources said he would look into reviewing the situation with an eye to taking action.

Harrison also pointed out that provincial cabinet ministers are having a hard time getting some answers from Ottawa on this issue.

Harrison says the minister responsible was in the House at the time of his statement, but only acknowledged that the mines needed to be decommissioned.

The abandoned mines are near the ghost town of Uranium City.