The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) fundamentally disagrees with the allegations made by a former employee that are presented in a CBC news article, titled “Canada’s nuclear waste body ousted liaison for being ‘too much on the side of the community,’ lawsuit claims” and published on Jan. 24, 2022. While it would be inappropriate for us to comment in any detail, given the matter is before the courts, we do want to underline that community partnership and engagement is central to the site selection process. The project will only move ahead in partnership with communities. That is the principle behind our work.  

Throughout our history, the NWMO has shown our unwavering commitment to community engagement and partnership. Our people have spent over a decade engaging with thousands of Canadians, including community members in the siting areas and Indigenous communities. The NWMO is committed to open and honest dialogue and continues to listen to diverse perspectives. Understanding diverse viewpoints have, and will continue to, shape our work.  

Open and transparent engagement is the foundation of everything we do. We have a number of engagement employees embedded in our siting area community offices, and their aim is to deeply understand and collaborate with the communities. We spent the past year expanding the engagement teams in South Bruce, the northwest and Indigenous communities, and that is something of which we are proud.  

As an organization, we value fairness, honesty, integrity and respect, and apply these values to everything we do.