Sept-Îles residents protest uranium exploration

Comment:  No to uranium mining!

Protesters back doctors who threaten to quit region

Last Updated: Monday, December 14, 2009 | 6:41 AM ET
The Canadian Press

Sept-Îles residents continue to pressure Quebec to slap a moratorium on uranium exploration in the province, despite the government's promise to open a debate on health and safety concerns surrounding the industry.

Hundreds of protesters gathered Sunday in Sept-Îles to protest uranium exploration in Quebec.

Some 1,000 protesters gathered Sunday in the town about 900 kilometres northeast of Montreal on the North Shore.

They were backing 20 doctors who threatened to quit their practice in the remote Quebec region because of uranium exploration nearby.

"We're showing our support," said Marc Fafard, spokesman and founder of a grassroots group opposed to uranium mining in the province.

"We want to show how proud we are of the doctors to have finally made this a provincial debate. Like it should be."

The province's head of public health, Dr. Alain Poirier, met with the doctors last week.

Poirier later announced Quebec would create a special committee to study the potential risks of uranium exploration and mining on health and safety.

Read more:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/12/14/quebec-uranium-cp.html