Currently, a key focus area for the LLRWMO is putting in place a strategy to address sites in Canada’s north that were contaminated, long ago, by the
spillage of radioactive ores in transport. The contamination is located along what is known as the northern transportation route as shown in Fig. 19.4 (LLRWMO, www. llrwmo. org), a 2200 km route beginning at the former Port Radium site in the Northwest Territories and extending to northern Alberta. The LLRWMO is adapting methods that it has successfully used in Canada ’s southern regions. These methods of community engagement and technical approaches take into account the geography and the environ­ment, while respecting the ways of inhabitants in the north. The success of the LLRWMO in southern communities has been based on building confi­dence with the communities involved through a carefully designed process, including cultivating stakeholder involvement early on in the process. Building and maintaining a community’s confidence require constant com­mitment, significant resources and mutual effort. In northern communities, these engagement processes include taking into account traditional and local knowledge and providing training and

19.4

policy decision so that the community can participate in the stewardship of their natural environment. One of the challenges of such projects built on a participatory approach is the need to find and achieve a balance between stakeholder representation, stakeholder participation, and project progress and implementation. That balance can vary with the individual project and its stakeholders.