Introduction

In October 2008, the Government of Saskatchewan established the Uranium Development Partnership to examine uranium resources. The UDP report - submitted March 31, 2009 - analysed the areas of: exploration and mining; upgrading; power generation; used fuel management; research, development and training.

On April 8th, Dan Perrins was appointed, Chair of the Future of Uranium in Saskatchewan Public Consultation Process by the Government of Saskatchewan. Mr. Perrins was appointed to lead an independent consultation process, focused on the recommendations made by the Uranium Development Partnership.

Mr. Perrins' goals for this consultation process are to listen to people through an inclusive process, and to reflect on what he heard in the report. A report will be submitted to the government in August. His role as Chair is not to be an advocate for the Uranium Development Partnership report, but to provide opportunities for Saskatchewan people to respond to that report.

Mandate

The Chair of the Public Consultation Process responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

  • Chairing the half-day Stakeholder consultation meeting;
  • Chairing all community consultation meetings across the province;
  • Chairing a minimum of two full-day meetings at which individual stakeholder organizations have the opportunity to present submissions;
  • Chairing a minimum of one full-day meeting at which First Nations and Métis representatives have the opportunity to present submissions;
  • Receiving and reviewing all written submissions from stakeholders and individuals sent to the Chair via email, regular mail or from this website;
  • Acting as a spokesperson for the Public Consultation Process; and
  • Writing and submitting to the Minister of Enterprise and Innovation a report no later than August 31, 2009, summarizing public input and feed back from stakeholders and citizens gathered through the Public Consultation Process.

The role as Chair of the Public Consultation Process will not include:

  • Acting a spokesperson for the Uranium Development Partnership (UDP) or the Government of Saskatchewan;
  • Acting as an advocate for or against the key findings or recommendations contained in the UDP Report; and
  • Making recommendations for further action with regard to uranium industry development except to recommend further public consultations and/or the provision of further information to the public.

For a full version of the mandate, click here.

The Consultation Process

The public and stakeholder meetings portion of the consultation process has largely been completed.

Organizations with a special interest in the report have been provided opportunities to directly engage Mr. Perrins at one-on-one meetings in Saskatoon (May 27 and May 28) and Regina (June 22 and June 23). In addition, invited stakeholder groups participated in a conference held in Saskatoon on May 26.

The community public consultations were held over the first three weeks of June. These community consultations also included Stony Rapids, Fond du Lac, and Wollaston Lake.  All audio transcripts and flipchart notes have been posted on the website. 

Each session began with an introduction of the process and purpose of the consultation by Mr. Perrins and session facilitators. This was then followed by a video provided by SaskPower outlining Saskatchewan’s current and future power demands and a video presentation provided by Dr. Richard Florizone, Chain of the Uranium Development Partnership (UDP), which outlined the recommendations provided in the UDP Report. Before moving into facilitated breakout groups, there was general discussion around the issues and concerns around nuclear power.  This was followed by facilitated discussions on the five areas of the UDP report: exploration and mining, upgrading, power generation, used fuel management, research, development and training. A workbook was provided at each meeting for participants to fill out and provide their comments.

Submissions from the public and from organizations were received until July31, 2009. Chair Dan Rerrins thanks everyone who took the time to make a submission, attend a public meeting, or make a presentation.

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