CNL Employees Spend The Weekend On The Water Supporting Local Events

Chalk River, ON – August 13, 2018 – Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, is pleased to announce that its employees spent this sunny August weekend on the Ottawa River, supporting local events which celebrate and raise money to better protect the historic waterway. With its main campus situated on the banks of the river, and with thousands of employees who make their homes in communities next to the river, CNL recognizes the important role this waterway serves for residents living in the Ottawa Valley.

For the second consecutive year, CNL returned as the title sponsor for the 2018 Upper Ottawa River Race and Paddle Festival, an annual three-day event celebrating active outdoor lifestyles and the Ottawa River. In addition to its sponsorship, a number of CNL employees participated in many of the events, which included a fishing derby, an historic paddle tour, a paddle sports race, and a fundraising event to support the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

“We are very proud to return as the title sponsor for the Upper Ottawa River Race and Paddle Festival, and want to thank the City of Pembroke and the Town of Petawawa for the opportunity to once again participate in this event,” commented CNL President and CEO, Mark Lesinski. “The Ottawa River is a huge part of our region, so it’s great to see a festival that celebrates all it has to offer. Our employees also enjoyed taking part in the many events that took place at the festival, all of which encourage people to get out on the river for some family-friendly fun.”

In addition to the paddle festival, a group of CNL employees formed their own swim team to participate in the Ottawa Riverkeeper 4K, an annual open water inter-provincial cross-river swim. The event, which raises funds to help protect and promote the health of our watershed, is aligned with CNL’s environmental protection activities, which includes an extensive environmental monitoring program that performs thousands of analyses on samples gathered from the river every year to ensure its integrity.

“Overall, we had a blast this weekend – swimming, paddling and coming together to raise money in support of such an important local resource,” added Lesinski, who participated in the 4K swim. “The people at CNL work beside the Ottawa River. They make their homes by the river. Their families and their children swim and boat on the river, and eat the fish and drink the water that comes from it. It’s a part of our daily lives, and that’s why we are working to make it even safer for the future through our ongoing activities at the Chalk River Laboratories campus.”

CNL’s Chalk River Laboratories site is located 190 km northwest of Canada’s capital city of Ottawa and adjacent to the family-friendly communities of Deep River, Laurentian Hills, Petawawa, and Pembroke. A number of recreational opportunities exist in the region, including the famous Algonquin Provincial Park, and the Ottawa River, which CNL employees use for swimming, kayaking, fishing, boating and rafting, among many other outdoor activities.

For more information on CNL, including results from its environmental protection program for the Chalk River Laboratories site, please visit www.cnl.ca.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is a world leader in nuclear science and technology offering unique capabilities and solutions across a wide range of industries. Actively involved with industry-driven research and development in nuclear, transportation, clean technology, energy, defence, security and life sciences, we provide solutions to keep these sectors competitive internationally.

With ongoing investments in new facilities and a focused mandate, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is well positioned for the future. A new performance standard reinforced with a strong safety culture underscores every activity.

For more information on the complete range of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories services, please visit www.cnl.ca or contact communications@cnl.ca.