[en] Full text: Nuclear energy is an important part of Canada's diversified energy mix. There are 22 CANDU reactors in Canada located in the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick, and Quebec. Like any other industry, nuclear fuel cycle operations produce some waste, and for this paper, we will focus on nuclear fuel waste, i.e., the irradiated fuel taken out of nuclear reactors at the end of their useful life. Canada has no plans to reprocess and recycle this used nuclear fuel, so current plans are based on direct long-term management. Although nuclear fuel wastes is currently in safe storage, steps are now underway to develop and proceed effectively with the implementation of long-term management solutions. A cornerstone of Canada's approach to addressing radioactive waste management is the Government of Canada's 1996 Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste, which has set general policy for dealing with a all radioactive waste from the nuclear fuel cycle (nuclear fuel waste, low level radioactive waste, and uranium mine and mill waste). The Framework clearly indicates that the federal government will ensure safe, environmentally sound, comprehensive, cost-effective and integrated waste management, including disposal; that it will develop policy, regulate and oversee the waste owners to ensure compliance with legal and financial requirement in accordance with approved disposal plans; and that the waste owners are responsible for the funding, organization, management and operation of long term management, including disposal, facilities. With respect to the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste, a deep geological disposal concept was developed by the federal crown corporation Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Ontario Hydro, and, in October 1988, it was referred by the government for review by an independent Federal Environmental Assessment Panel. AECL submitted the Environmental Impact Statement to the Panel in 1994. The Panel reported its conclusions and recommendations on the acceptability of the concept in March 1998. It found that 'from a technical perspective, safety of the AECL concept has been on balance adequately demonstrated for a conceptual stage of development, but from a social perspective, it is not. As it stands, the AECL concept for deep geological disposal has not been demonstrated to have broad public support. The concept in its current form does not have the required level of acceptability to be adopted as Canada's approach for managing nuclear fuel waste'. Thus it was recommended that Canada should increase public confidence before proceeding with any general approach on the long-term management. With the Panel's recommendations in mind, and with further consultations with stakeholders, including the public, the Government of Canada developed the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act (NFW) which came into force on November 15, 2002. The NFW Act is a stand-alone piece of legislation with some 30 articles and without regulations. The NFW Act deals essentially with social, financial and socio-economic considerations of the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste. It complements the health, environment, safety and security requirements under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. The NFW Act incorporates at the legislative level requirements which establish a process for due effort in addressing social impacts; these impacts are to be addressed on the same footing as technical matters throughout the development and implementation of a solution for the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste. The NFW Act provides for 1) the nuclear industry to set up a waste management organization to manage the long-term waste management activities related to nuclear fuel waste 2) the owners of the waste to establish trust funds to finance long-term waste management responsibilities and 3) the waste management organization to submit a report containing options for government decision longterm waste management, within three years of the coming into force of the NFW Act. The Nuclear Fuel Waste Act list three options which must be included in the study, namely; the deep geological disposal concept, long-term storage at nuclear reactor sites, and centralized long-term storage, either above or below ground. The waste management organization may study and present additional options for consideration if it wishes to do so. Canada has now adopted a legislative framework to move effectively towards the implementation of a solution for the long-term management of its nuclear fuel waste. By November 2005, the 'Nuclear Waste Management Organization', established by the nuclear industry on October 24, 2002, will submit its report on proposed options. This will be followed by a decision by the Government of Canada. The requirement and characteristics of storage of nuclear fuel waste over the long-term in Canada will then become more certain. Details of any future storage plan need to await the Government decision on the approach to the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste in Canada. (author)