November 10, 2024
Toronto – Michelle Johnston, President of the Society of United Professionals congratulated the Green Party of Ontario on the passage of a resolution at their 2024 Annual General Meeting which reverses a long history of blanket opposition to nuclear energy.
"There is scientific consensus that a significant increase in nuclear energy, in tandem with hydro, non-hydro renewables, storage and other ultra-low emission energy sources, is necessary in order to power the electrification of our economy required to reach net-zero emissions," said Johnston. "Given the Green Party’s long-standing opposition to nuclear energy, we were pleasantly surprised to see this resolution pass. As a party genuinely invested in the fight against climate change, it makes sense to see them recognize that nuclear energy is one of the most potent tools in that fight."
The resolution, which explicitly calls for the use of made-in-Canada CANDU reactors was praised by the Society. The union, which represents nuclear workers at Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, among others, has been a long-standing advocate for the expansion of Ontario’s CANDU nuclear fleet.
"There has long been strong anti-nuclear sentiment among Boomer-aged environmentalists and legacy environmental groups like Greenpeace and the Sierra Club," said Johnston, "But I'm so excited to see that a new generation of environmentalists, who grew up in the shadow of catastrophic global climate change, rather than the shadow of the Cold War, has increasingly embraced nuclear energy as a powerful tool to combat climate change."
The Society, which represents 10,000 professionals in the energy and legal sectors, looks forward to new opportunities for dialogue and energy policy discussions with Green Leader Mike Schreiner and the Green Party of Ontario policy team.
The Ontario NDP, who still maintain anti-nuclear policy positions, have their policy conference scheduled for January 2025. The Society is hopeful that we will see similar resolutions passed in support of made-in-Canada nuclear technology, and that the next election will be the first where all parties are running on platforms that recognize the environmental, economic and jobs benefits of nuclear energy.
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Media contact: Jeremy Johnston-Kaye, Communications Officer, 416-553-3516, [email protected]