"Greenpeace is blocking the Pickering reactor station because
Nuclear Energy Minister George Smitherman is blocking green energy
in Ontario," said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a Greenpeace energy
campaigner. "The spin around Smitherman's proposed Green Energy Act
is cynical greenwashing to hide the fact that his nuclear plans
will rob green energy of the funding needed for development."
The Greenpeace billboard has a caricature of Smitherman pouring
nuclear waste onto a windmill. Activists locked themselves to the
trucks, sounded alarm sirens and let off smoke flares. They carried
flags with messages including: "Smitherman: Minister of Nuclear
Waste;" and "Going green means shutting down nuclear!"
Greenpeace's campaign is to convince Smitherman to replace the
2,000 megawatts of electricity produced by the aging Pickering B
reactors with green energy. The McGuinty government has only
proposed nuclear options and is fixated on having the largest
nuclear construction project in the world.
"You can't plan to spend tens of billions on nuclear reactors
and call yourself green. That's greenwashing," said Stensil.
"Smitherman can start proving he supports green energy by replacing
the Pickering reactors with renewable power."
The proposed Green Energy Act could be a valuable tool in
creating a green energy system in Ontario, but unfortunately the
McGuinty government has reserved 50 per cent of the province's
electricity grid for nuclear, blocking any significant expansion of
green power. As part of Greenpeace's campaign for green energy,
Executive Director Bruce Cox is mid-way through a 10-city tour of
Ontario communities to promote a nuclear-free Ontario.
"Smitherman wants us to believe the McGuinty government's
fantasy that green energy is its first priority," said Stensil.
"The only way to turn fantasy to reality is to get off the nuclear
path and get on the green path."
- 30 -
Editors: Pictures and video of today's action will be available
soon at:
www.greenpeace.ca/gallery
Supporting documents at: http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/press/
Documents include:
The nuclear reactor threats in Ontario
The McGuinty Government's fixation with nuclear reactors
For more information, please
contact:
Brian Blomme, Communications Coordinator, (416) 930-9055 on
location
Shawn-Patrick Stensil, Energy Campaigner, (416) 884-7053 on
location (English/French)