[Sust-mar] News release - NDP would legislate uranium mining moratorium

[Graham Steele]

Halifax - NDP Environment Critic, Graham Steele, will introduce
legislation this evening in the House of Assembly that, if passed, would
place a permanent ban on uranium mining in Nova Scotia.

“There hasn't been uranium exploration or mining in Nova Scotia since
the early-1980's," says Steele. "Our mining sector, which continues to
be important to the provincial economy, has been able to carry on quite
nicely without it. But the ban on uranium mining has never been
legislated, and recently the Minister of Natural Resources said that he
was open to the idea of lifting the moratorium."

The ban on uranium mining was first introduced by the Buchanan
government in 1982, which also set up a Commission of Inquiry headed by
Judge Robert McCleave. The ban was continued by successive Orders in
Council, the last one in 1995, but its current legal status is unclear.
The NDP Bill would remove any doubt  about the legal validity of the
ban.

"The safety of uranium mining has always been controversial, but that is
not the main reason to legislate the moratorium," says Steele. "The most
important reason for legislating the ban is that the principal use for
uranium is in nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons."

“A legislated ban on uranium mining is widely supported by environmental
groups across the province,” says Steele. "We believe that the vast
majority of Nova Scotians do not wish to be part of the world's uranium
economy."