Houston confirms no bids made for uranium exploration as deadline passes

The deadline for a request for proposals (RFP) on uranium exploration in Nova Scotia has come and gone with no interest.

The province announced the RFP last month, looking for bids to explore three areas that are known to have higher levels of uranium. The deadline to apply was June 11.

“In the case of uranium specifically, there were no bids,” Premier Tim Houston told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The search for suitors came after the government tabled legislation in February lifting a decades-long moratorium on uranium exploration and mining.

“I didn’t have a strong reaction either way,” Houston said when asked if he was disappointed by the lack of interest. “The only thing that is 100 per cent clear to me is we need to grow our economy. We have essentially the worst performing economy in North America.”

The province’s decision to open up uranium exploration has been met with pushback. Several municipalities have asked the government for a delay to better understand potential impacts, and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs has criticized a lack of consultation.

The Nova Scotia committee of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment has also warned of health risks associated with uranium mining, saying uranium is both radioactive and chemically toxic and can contaminate water in areas with high rainfall.

The premier once again stressed he believes the work can be done safely.

“On the uranium discussion, I think it’s important that we stick to facts,” Houston said. “There are a number of ways to explore for uranium, and a number are no disturbance; it could be an airplane flying over, could be someone walking along picking up rocks. And some would be a disturbance, like some mining.”

“The voices that push fear get a lot of the air time,” he said.

The premier didn’t say what the province would do moving forward, but suggested the government could do aerial surveillance itself.