The NWMO has been guided for more than 20 years by a dedicated team of world-class scientists, engineers and Indigenous Knowledge Holders who are developing innovative and collaborative solutions for nuclear waste management.

Developed in 2004, the NWMO’s Ethical and Social Framework is rooted in the work of a Roundtable on Ethics, which was tasked with identifying ethical standards and organizing them into a framework to guide the NWMO’s work. The NWMO strives to embed ethics in all our activities to ensure that our work reflects the highest ethical standards.

Ethical principles form a foundation for our work — both the engagement and decision-making procedures we use and the decisions we make:

• Respect for life in all its forms, including human beings and other sentient creatures, and minimization of social and environmental harm in all our work.
• Respect for future generations of human beings, other species and the biosphere as a whole.
• Respect for peoples and cultures.
• Justice across groups, regions and generations.
• Fairness to everyone affected.
• Sensitivity to the differences of values and interpretations that different individuals and groups bring to the dialogue.

Since we began engaging Indigenous Peoples and Canadians, we have used this framework to guide how we work with communities and make decisions. This is reflected in our programs and policies. Examples include our Sustainability Statement, Water Statement, Indigenous Knowledge Policy, Reconciliation Policy and Proposed site selection process for Canada’s second deep geological repository for radioactive waste.

This Ethical and Social Framework is considered a living document. We review it from time to time as our work and the world evolve, aligning with developments in science and technology, input from communities and the public, insight from Indigenous Knowledge, evolving societal values and changes in public policy.

Resources

• Ethical and Social Framework