Clarington

Mayor Adrian Foster

Background

The Municipality of Clarington, with a population of over one hundred thousand people forms the eastern boundary of the Greater Toronto Area.

We are a large Municipality, covering an area of approximately 612 square kilometres with four major urban centres and 15 hamlets. Clarington offers a blend of vibrant urban centres and rural charm. Our residents enjoy waterfront trails alongside Lake Ontario, Greenbelt protected farmlands and the natural beauty of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

A Proud Nuclear Host Community

Clarington has a long history of engagement with the nuclear file. We are a proud and willing host to the nuclear industry, with significant and ongoing dialogue between the regulator, the public, the supply chain and Ontario Power Generation, the operator.

Below are some of the highlights of our involvement in the file:

• Clarington is host to Darlington Nuclear, which provides safe, clean, reliable and low-cost electricity that meets about 20 per cent of Ontario’s power needs. This facility - one of the world's top-performing nuclear stations - is currently undergoing a comprehensive refurbishment program, valued at $12.8 billion dollars, making it one of Canada’s largest green-energy infrastructure initiatives. Broadly speaking, it supports approximately 14,000 jobs and $89 billion dollars of economic activity in Canada.
• We take part in several aspects of the safety and security programs that form an inherent aspect of the nuclear process, and are active participants in the rigorous regulatory oversight and licensing approvals process for operating nuclear stations and their dry fuel storage facilities.
• Clarington has also been engaged on the nuclear file through participation in the Port Hope Area Initiative, a federal undertaking on our eastern border to ensure the safe, long-term management of historic low-level radioactive materials.
• Clarington was proud to be the site selected for participation in Canada’s bid for the ITER facility, an international collaboration aimed at harnessing energy through nuclear fusion that was later sited in France.
• Also located in Clarington (adjacent to the Darlington Nuclear) is the proposed site for OPG’s Darlington New Nuclear facility. The site is the only location in Canada that is currently licenced for new nuclear, with a completed Environmental Assessment and Site Preparation Licence (SPL) in place new nuclear, which could potentially include Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology.

Value of the Broader Nuclear Industry and Innovative Technologies

As a Council and as a community, we recognize the many benefits that Canadians and citizens abroad reap from our domestic nuclear industry.

The safe operations of our nuclear facilities provide reliable, base-load electricity for our homes, schools, hospitals and businesses on a daily basis, including most recently throughout the pandemic.

In addition, of the many benefits of nuclear power, isotope production is perhaps the most impactful benefit from a broad society perspective, as half of the isotopes used globally are harvested from Canada’s nuclear facilities. Canadian isotopes, with their ability for use as nuclear medicine and for sterilization of medical and dental instruments, help to save lives each and every day.

Small Modular Reactors

We recognize that SMRs represent the future of Canada’s nuclear industry, and offer benefits that include not only scalable and reliable power production but that they also can serve remote communities, foster economic development, and provide meaningful work for the more than 70,000 Canadians that form part of the nuclear supply chain.

With respect to economic impact, as it was stated in Canada’s SMR Roadmap: “Canada has one of the world’s most promising domestic markets for SMRs. Conservative estimates place the potential value for SMRs in Canada at $5.3B between 2025 and 2040. Globally, the SMR market is much bigger, with a conservative estimated value of $150B between 2025 and 2040.” The many nuclear supply chain companies both in our region, and across the country, would benefit from Canada building on our nuclear expertise to lead in this area, as we collectively work towards the post-pandemic economic recovery.

As well, being a level of government that has recent experience facing the challenges presented by extreme weather events and flooding attributed to global warming, we are excited about the contributions SMR technology can provide to the global fight against climate change. The ability to for SMRs to be deployed to address energy and connectivity challenges in fossil fuel reliant rural and remote communities could provide further benefits from a climate change perspective, while also driving economic prosperity for communities right across the country.

Supporting Pan-Canadian SMR Deployment

As a community, we recognize the many benefits provided by reliable, clean, baseload nuclear power has never been greater, and as we seek to reduce the impacts from global warming and climate change, Clarington remains committed to supporting the advancement of SMRs at Darlington and across Canada.

Clarington also pledges to:

• Participate in the SMR committee
• Support the sharing of information with other levels of government, including with elected officials
• Participating in associated regulatory activities and initiatives

We appreciate the opportunity to provide comment, and we look forward to a continued dialogue as we collectively work to realize the deployment of Small Modular Reactors across the nation.

Yours truly,

Adrian Foster
Mayor

Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington
40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3A6, T: (905) 623-3379. F: (905) 623-2582
e-mail: mayor@clarington.net