Nuclear waste on Highway 11: have your say before October 26

ONTARIO11

Someone posted a question about the nuclear waste trucks on Facebook, so here is what I found and what you can do about it before October 26.

Back in November 2024, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization picked a site near Ignace for Canada’s used nuclear fuel. If it gets approved, about 30,000 truckloads would head there over roughly 50 years, starting in 2043 at the earliest. They haven’t said which highways they’ll use, and for security reasons they never will. But Highway 11 runs right through Cochrane, Smooth Rock Falls, Kapuskasing and Hearst, and it’s one of the obvious ways to get there.

Right now Ottawa is deciding whether to call this a project of “national interest” under the Building Canada Act, which would speed up the approvals. They put a notice in the Canada Gazette, and anyone can email a comment until October 26, 2026. Yes, that’s our election day.

Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation were asked if they wanted to host it. The towns the trucks would drive through were never asked anything. I’ll be straight with you: a comment isn’t going to stop the project. What it can do is push the conditions that come with it. Things like talking to the towns along the route, paying for training and equipment for our volunteer firefighters before any trucks roll, and fixing Highway 11 first. If enough of us along the highway write in with our names on it, it gets a lot harder to set those conditions like we’re not here.

I put the form below together to make this easy. Pick the points you agree with, add a line of your own if you want, and it writes the email for you. You can also copy in our MPPs, the Premier, the transport ministers and FONOM. It takes a couple of minutes. The page doesn’t send or save anything; the email goes out from your own email app.

Federal comments close October 26, 2026

1Who you are

Comments from named residents of affected communities carry more weight than anonymous ones.

Your name Your community

2Pick the points that matter to you

Choose any that you agree with. Identical form letters get discounted, so pick your own mix and add a personal line below.

Consult the communities along the route Trucks would use provincial highways for decades, yet towns along potential routes like Highway 11 had no say in the “willing host” process. Keep transportation inside the full review Federal guidelines already require a transportation plan, route criteria and emergency planning. Fast-tracking must not cut that work short. Fund local emergency response first Highway 11 towns rely on volunteer fire services. Training, equipment and mutual aid should be funded before any shipment. Upgrade Highway 11 before any shipments A two-lane corridor with frequent closures shouldn’t carry this traffic without the safety upgrades, like 2+1 lanes, that northern leaders have requested. Don’t rush the decision The comment window closes on Ontario’s municipal election day, before new councils in affected towns can even respond. Extend it. Add a line in your own words (optional, but it helps)

3Choose who receives it

The official comment address is where your submission counts toward the federal decision. The others are optional copies so the people responsible for Highway 11 see what their constituents are saying. They can be emailed any time, including after October 26.

Major Projects Office official comment address Where comments on the national-interest listing must go by October 26, 2026.

See address

DGRComment-CommentaireDSCGP@mpo-bgp.gc.ca

Copy all of the people below Ticks every optional copy at once. Untick it to clear them. Highway 11 corridor MPPs copy The six provincial members from North Bay to Thunder Bay. The highway itself is provincial.

See all 6 names and addresses

Vic Fedeli, Nipissing: Vic.Fedeli@pc.ola.org
John Vanthof, Timiskaming–Cochrane: JVanthof-QP@ndp.on.ca
Guy Bourgouin, Mushkegowuk–James Bay: GBourgouin-QP@ndp.on.ca
George Pirie, Timmins: George.Pirie@pc.ola.org
Lise Vaugeois, Thunder Bay–Superior North: LVaugeois-QP@ndp.on.ca
Kevin Holland, Thunder Bay–Atikokan: kevin.holland@pc.ola.org

Premier Doug Ford copy The Premier’s office, which has backed both the repository and northern highway upgrades.

See address

premier@ontario.ca

Ministers of Transportation copy Canada’s Transport Minister (regulates dangerous goods) and Ontario’s (owns Highway 11).

See both addresses

Minister of Transport (Canada): mintc@tc.gc.ca
Minister of Transportation (Ontario): minister.mto@ontario.ca

FONOM copy The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, already pushing for Highway 11/17 upgrades. President: Dave Plourde, Mayor of Kapuskasing.

See address

fonom.info@gmail.com

4Send it

This email is going to:

Use Open in Outlook if you send email from Outlook on a Windows computer. Use Open in another email app for Gmail, iPhone, Android, Mac or anything else. Both fill in everything; you just press Send. If neither works on your device, copy the text and addresses instead.

Sources and links

If you think I have got something wrong here, tell me and I will fix it. Corrections are logged below.

Updates and corrections

October 7, 2026. Corrected the email address for Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay–Atikokan. The earlier address bounced.
October 6, 2026. Simplified the email wording, and the form now shows a clear paste step when the email is too long for your email app to fill in.
October 6, 2026. First published.