Latest news with #CanadianNuclearLaboratories
Globe and Mail
10 hours ago
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and the University of Ottawa Accelerate Low Dose Radiation Research and Foster Next Generation of Scientists
CHALK RIVER, Ontario, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada's premier nuclear science and technology organization, and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa), one of Canada's most innovative universities, are pleased to announce a new partnership to advance knowledge, education, research and innovation in low dose radiation (LDR) exposure health effects. Leveraging the leading research organizations' complementary capabilities, the new partnership builds on CNL's global leadership in LDR research with the establishment of a CNL-led LDR innovation hub, accelerating research critical to public safety and the health of Canadians. It will also serve to increase capabilities, education and training opportunities to graduate students and early career researchers. The partnership will also extend uOttawa researchers' access to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's world class facilities at Chalk River Laboratories, including the unique Biological Research Facility, associated irradiation facilities and LDR Tissue Bank, and establishes a CNL satellite laboratory within uOttawa's new Advanced Medical Research Centre (AMRC) – set to open in 2026. This physical presence will be co-located with the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology (OISB) as well as uOttawa state-of-the-art Core Facilities, which altogether will support new research directions in radiation sciences and advanced organoid-based systems biology. These areas are rapidly developing strengths at uOttawa, positioning the university as a national, and potentially international, leader in this field. uOttawa will also offer reciprocal access to key research facilities on campus, in addition to those located at the faculty of medicine and in AMRC. 'As a major player in the global research and development effort to support LDR research, CNL is focused on the prevention or reduction of radiation exposure effects in workers, patients and the larger population,' says Dr. Stephen Bushby, Vice-President, Science & Technology, CNL. 'We are very excited to include uOttawa as a major partner in the work needed to shed light on this complex field of research.' As part of this partnership, CNL will be contributing towards the acquisition of a mass spectrometer, which will be installed in the in the Metabolomics Core Facility at uOttawa. This strategic investment, supporting collaborative initiatives between OISB and CNL, will enable leading-edge single-cell metabolomics and spatial metabolomics, a rapidly advancing field with transformative potential in biomedical research. This will be the only equipment of its kind in eastern Canada, offering unique capabilities for high-resolution chemical imaging at the cellular level. The instrument will not only serve researchers at uOttawa, but also attract national and international collaborators, firmly establishing uOttawa as a leader in metabolomics and precision health research. The mass spectrometer will be a central component of the new Spatial Biology and Single-Cell Suite (3S) within the AMRC. This cutting-edge suite will integrate transformative new technologies into a coordinated workflow that complements and enhances five existing and intensively used Core Facilities: Flow Cytometry, Metabolomics, Gene Editing, Cellular Imaging, and Bioinformatics. By bridging these platforms, 3S will significantly expand research capabilities in some of uOttawa's strongest areas of discovery, particularly brain, heart, and cancer biology—driving breakthroughs in systems biology, precision medicine, and therapeutic development. 'This new equipment, the only one of its kind in Eastern Canada, positions the University of Ottawa as a leader in metabolomics and precision health research, while attracting national and international collaborations,' says Julie St-Pierre, Interim Vice-President, Research and Innovation, uOttawa. This new partnership builds on over a decade of collaborative research involving CNL and multiple uOttawa faculties, including Engineering, Science and Medicine. These collaborations have advanced understanding of the biomedical impacts of LDR, including studies on DNA damage and repair, protein synthesis, epigenetics, mitochondrial biology, metabolism, immunity, and stem cell functions. As part of this partnership, CNL has also provided funding support for postdoctoral fellow stipends, further enabling high-impact research and talent development. With the field of LDR research growing and Canadian leadership in LDR research well-recognized, both organizations will continue to explore additional opportunities to further strengthen this partnership. About CNL As Canada's premier nuclear science and technology laboratory and working under the direction of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), CNL is a world leader in the development of innovative nuclear science and technology products and services. Guided by an ambitious corporate strategy known as Vision 2030, CNL fulfills three strategic priorities of national importance – restoring and protecting the environment, advancing clean energy technologies, and contributing to the health of Canadians. By leveraging the assets owned by AECL, CNL also serves as the nexus between government, the nuclear industry, the broader private sector and the academic community. CNL works in collaboration with these sectors to advance innovative Canadian products and services towards real-world use, including carbon-free energy, cancer treatments and other therapies, non-proliferation technologies and waste management solutions. To learn more about CNL, please visit The University of Ottawa is powered by research. Located in Canada's capital, we bring together energetic and creative scholars to tackle urgent global challenges and to respond to emerging opportunities. As one of Canada's most innovative universities, we generate breakthroughs and discoveries that make a real difference in communities across Ontario, Canada and the world. Our thought leaders provide evidence-based insights that inform policy and support industry. Our influence keeps growing due to our vast range of international partnerships, including our membership in the U7+ Alliance. As the world's largest French-English university, we are a driving force in the Francophonie. To learn more about uOttawa, please visit uOttawa contact: media@ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
CBC
20-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Algonquin community wins part of court challenge over nuclear waste dump near Ottawa River
An Algonquin community in Quebec is declaring victory after a judge upheld part of its court challenge to a proposed radioactive waste dump to be built about a kilometre away from the Ottawa River. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved the project in January 2024, greenlighting Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) to build the "near-surface disposal facility" at the Chalk River research campus near Deep River, Ont., 150 kilometres northwest of Ottawa. But according to Federal Court Justice Julie Blackhawk, the regulatory body failed to consider internationally recognized Indigenous rights and how they apply in Canadian law when consulting with Kebaowek, rendering the approval decision both unreasonable and incorrect. "The consultation process in this matter was not adequate," Blackhawk wrote in a decision released Wednesday. The judge ordered the commission and CNL to resume consultations with Kebaowek "in a robust manner," while properly considering the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and its standard of free, prior and informed consent. The consultation must be adapted to address Indigenous laws, knowledge and be aimed at reaching an agreement, to be completed by Sept. 30, 2026, Blackhawk ruled. Kebaowek had asked the court to quash the commission's approval entirely, requiring CNL to restart the process altogether. But Blackhawk declined, calling that impractical, sending the matter back to the commission to correct the process instead. Nevertheless, community leaders are ecstatic, said Chief Lance Haymond. "It's clear that when Canada adopted UNDRIP, the provisions of UNDRIP had to be applied in Canadian law from the beginning, not in some time in the future," said Haymond, whose community is 300 kilometres northwest of Ottawa. "I think that's a win for Kebaowek, and that's a win for First Nations across this country." Haymond hailed the decision as one with far-reaching implications for industry and project proponents, meaning he expects it will be appealed. The community wasn't entirely successful. The judge found it was reasonable for the commission to conclude the project is unlikely to cause significant environmental harm, contrary to Kebaowek's argument. Neither the commission nor CNL, a private consortium under contract to the federal government, has responded to requests for comments as of publishing time. A novel argument The facility would contain up to one million cubic metres, or about 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth, of low-level radioactive waste from the Second World War-era Chalk River site in a specially designed mound. Kebaowek has raised concerns about the project's potential impact on drinking water, wildlife and Indigenous rights. In the judicial review, the community raised novel legal arguments, centring on the commission's obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, federal legislation passed in 2021. The law requires Canada to harmonize federal laws with UNDRIP, an international instrument outlining minimum standards for the protection of Indigenous peoples' rights around the world. Kebaowek argued the nuclear regulator, in light of the relatively new legislation, needed to apply UNDRIP during its decision-making, particularly the article that prohibits states from disposing hazardous materials on Indigenous peoples' lands without their consent. The commission concluded it had no power nor jurisdiction to do so, amid a lack of judicial interpretation of the new law, and declared it had met its duty to consult the community. Blackhawk rejected that, and Kebaowek's legal counsel echoed the chief about the precedent being set in a Thursday news release. "The court has made it clear that respecting Canada's commitments under UNDRIP cannot be delayed to some far distant date," said Robert Janes, a partner at JFK Law in Toronto, in the release. "Canada must respect these commitments now." At the same time, Blackhawk said the duty to consult, which stems from a 2004 Supreme Court ruling, "is a right to a process, not a particular outcome," and doesn't afford Indigenous nations a veto power. Haymond declined to speculate on what the new consultation round will look like but expressed hope it will go beyond "lip service" and enable the First Nation to make a properly informed decision. He called the ruling a win for the two million people who rely on the Ottawa River for drinking water as well, and was eager to thank Kebaowek's numerous backers, which include community groups, non-profit organizations, the Bloc Québécois and the RAVEN Trust legal fundraising charity.
