Nuclear Firesale

OTTAWA--The Harper government is finally taking action to address the massive problems within Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) by selling off its nuclear reactor business and finding a private-sector manager for the faulty Chalk River facility, leaving many questioning where is the accountability to taxpayers?

There is little satisfaction in saying 'we told you so,' but clearly the Greens were the only federal party to grasp the severity of the looming medical isotope crisis and the ineptitude of AECL.  The Harper government's decision to take AECL out of the loop in management of the Chalk River mess and sell as a separate operation the Crown corporation reactor division confirms they finally realize the problem was never the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission or its President, Linda Keen. The problem was AECL incompetence.  Now we need honest answers to other key questions: how much will taxpayers lose of the almost $20 billion Canadians have sunk into AECL? Who looks after the nuclear waste?  Will the nuclear safety inspectors regain their independence? The Auditor General must review all the details of this sale to ensure we are not losing out once again.  

“It is our hope that this sale will protect Canadian taxpayers from further AECL boondoggles and finally end the direct government subsidies to the nuclear industry,” said Amy Collard, Natural Resources Critic for the Greens. “In the meantime, we must ensure a reliable supply of medical isotopes from non-nuclear sources, and fast.”

The Green Party is calling for the $7 billion in liabilities resulting from the Chalk River Laboratories to be transferred to a new independent, publicly controlled decommissioning authority under Environment Canada.  This mess will have long lasting implications that will require management in perpetuity.  Other parts of the lab involved in direct science should go back under the stewardship of the National Research Council.

“The time has come to invest Canadians' money into companies that are actually profitable, well managed, and leaders in green technology.  While we divest ourselves of this high risk, high cost, slow moving industry, we must have full accountability to ensure that not one more penny of taxpayers’ money is wasted and that safety standards are enforced.  This sale must be for the good of Canada, not put profits into the hands of private interests.  That said, AECL has been soaking up billions in public money for years and it is high time to pull the plug,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May.

“Now the question is, will the Harper government promise not to assume the risks of any new reactors and not to carry over subsidies to any private companies?  Any plan to use Canadian tax dollars to build a reactor for Ontario at private profit is unacceptable,” said May.

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Contact:
Michael Bernard
Communications Officer
Green Party of Canada
613-562-4916 ext. 244
(c) 613-614-4916
michael.bernard@greenparty.ca