It Could Never Happen Here (We Hope)

On the prospects of nuclear disaster in Canada.

The Montreal Gazette’s Henry Aubin says the unfolding nuclear disaster in Japan “blew holes in the widely held proposition that nuclear power is somehow safe, green, and the logical answer to the planet's gluttonous energy demands.” While he admits that the threat of catastrophe at any one nuclear plant is low, Aubin says that with 500 nuclear reactors soon to be online worldwide, the chances of disaster can only increase. Noting that inspectors at Ontario’s Pickering plant worryingly concluded in 2009 that the facility didn’t have enough experienced staff to deal with an emergency, and that nuclear waste is nearly impossible to dispose of, Aubin recommends we drastically cut our energy demands and explore alternative, green sources.

The Globe and Mail editors say the problems at the Fukushima plant “ought not to sound the death knell of nuclear power.” While nuclear disasters are terrifyingly spectacular, the Globe reminds us that thousands of people die every year in explosions at coal mines and oil facilities, and that nuclear power is the only viable alternative at the moment. “So rather than forsake nuclear power altogether, all nuclear nations should re-evaluate the risks most germane to their facilities.”

Ontario Power Generation president Tom Mitchell writes in the Toronto Star that we could never have a Fukushima-type disaster in Ontario, which is good. Of course, it would be pretty darn surprising if he said otherwise.

Defending the nuclear industry, the Sun Media editors sound the ‘All Clear!’ on Japan’s nuclear crisis. The country’s nuclear reactors have “withstood and survived the worst nature could possibly toss at them,” says the Sun. By “survived” the editors presumably mean currently leaking radioactive steam, possibly on the verge of a complete meltdown, and likely rendered forever unusable. That kind of survived.

And, finally, Sun Media’s Ezra Levant takes on the real villain in the nuclear debate: irrelevant musician Matthew Good, who stupidly declared his objection to electricity on Facebook Monday. For Levant, Good is one of the “beautiful people” who can’t reconcile their showbiz lifestyle with their liberal values. Really? Beautiful people? Has Levant seen Matthew Good?