TORONTO - Three weeks of public hearings begin today into a plan to add two new reactors to a nuclear power plant in southern Ontario.
A federal environmental assessment of the proposal for the Darlington plant about 80 kilometres east of Toronto has been underway since 2006.
The hearings begin against the backdrop of the ongoing nuclear uncertainty following the earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan.
Last Friday, Ontario's energy minister pressed Ottawa to ensure the environmental assessment for Darlington is "very thorough."
Brad Duguid also urged the federal government to ensure that the atomic crisis in Japan is considered in plans to build the new reactors.
Several groups want the province to shelve the plans in the wake of the Japanese disaster and for the public hearings to be postponed.
A spokeswoman for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency said the panel has no plans to postpone the hearings.
But Lucille Jamault said it may change the agenda to allow for additional presentations on matters related to the events in Japan.
