Residents resist proposed nuclear plant due to Ontario town's radioactive past

A generation of Port Hope residents, old enough to have lived through the community's fraught history with the nuclear industry, were shocked by news of a proposed power plant in their town. The town's mayor and Ontario's energy minister have hailed the project as a step toward a secure, resilient energy future.

The provincially owned company in charge of the new nuclear power project is assuring residents that the sector operates much differently than when it was in its infancy.

When the Ontario government announced plans earlier this year to build what could become one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants in a picturesque community of roughly 18,000 people, the news came wrapped in a series of celebratory speeches.