Hon. Céline Hervieux-Payette:

Honourable senators, I rise today to talk to you at second reading of Bill S-225, An Act respecting the reorganization and privatization of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and providing for other measures relating to nuclear energy.

Having realized the indifference of the Conservative government towards strategic economic sectors in Canada and its emphasis on short-term political and financial gains, I decided to follow up on the recommendations made by the nuclear industry during the hearings on AECL this summer at the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance.

The solutions I propose in this bill aim to effectively reorganize AECL into a profitable organization that will be able to continue to benefit Canada. They also aim to boost confidence in this organization's ability to research, engineer, manufacture, install, repair and refurbish CANDU reactors at home and abroad.

AECL has contributed in more ways than one to our international reputation, our economy, and to the fields of medicine and nuclear physics. Despite these exploits, this corporation is at risk of being sold off without much consideration given to the benefits it has created for Canadians.

This week, the Government of Ontario decided to assert its confidence in Canada's nuclear industry by unveiling a long-term energy plan for the province. Ontario plans to refurbish 10 nuclear reactors and to build 2 new reactors. With an estimated cost of about $30 billion to $40 billion and job creations of around 25,000, this commitment is far from a small investment. If the Government of Ontario believes in Canada's nuclear technology, why cannot the Government of Canada believe? As time was running out to protect our nuclear industry, I decided one week ago to table Bill S-225 to save Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

Bill S-225 aims to insure that one of our Crown jewels, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, remains within the control of the federal government, while involving the private sector in a minority stake in order to raise capital and increase the corporation's marketability of its reactor business. To remain competitive and expand in new markets, AECL must receive an influx of capital. However, this bill will introduce rules that will protect the nuclear industry from evaporating all profits and innovation into the hands of foreign entities.

Canada's nuclear sector is a $6.6 billion per year industry generating $1.5 billion in federal and provincial revenues from taxes and providing 71,000 jobs — 21,000 direct and 10,000 indirect, plus 40,000 spin-off jobs. It represents 150 firms and $1.2 billion per year in exports.

For 48 years, Canada's nuclear industry has achieved an unparalleled record of safe, reliable and economical power generation in three provinces.

AECL has since operated as Canada's national nuclear research and development institution, contributing its science and engineering research capabilities in developing and supporting commercial CANDU products and service businesses, nuclear medicine and materials research for a wide range of industries.

Although we must address the issue of reorganizing AECL rapidly in order to reduce the negative impacts these delays are having on AECL and the thousands of small businesses that support it, I must emphasize that the unregulated sale of AECL to the private sector or foreign corporations could undermine our capabilities as a global leader in the nuclear field as well as put tens of thousands of jobs at risk.

The nuclear industry is a very select club; it is composed of roughly six big players that are in one way or another backed financially by a government. The need for government involvement in this sector is essential. The federal government is the only actor that can finance research and development that will keep AECL competitive globally. Furthermore, the federal government is the only actor that can safely regulate this sector in order for it to continue to benefit Canadians in the energy, medical and scientific sectors.

Honourable senators, time is of the essence with Bill S-225. The Canadian nuclear industry cannot lay dormant while it awaits the outcome of the reorganization of AECL. Faced with a government that wants to dismantle AECL, we must act now and achieve a positive outcome that will benefit the Canadian nuclear industry. The Canadian nuclear industry has been abandoned by the Conservative government, the Minister of Natural Resources and the Prime Minister.

Bill S-225 creates a new role for the private sector and AECL. With a 30 per cent stake, the private sector will be in charge of managing the corporation while the federal government, with its majority share set at 70 per cent, will ensure that decisions are taken in the best interests of Canadians and will ensure further investment in research and development in the nuclear sciences. The majority stake of the federal government in AECL will guarantee safety standards as well as preserve employees' pensions and ensure that employees can work in both official languages.

As stated by the dozens of witnesses heard by the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance during its study of Bill C-9, the omnibus budget bill, the world is on the cusp of a nuclear renaissance with an estimated 400 nuclear reactors to be built throughout the world within the next 20 years.

Signs of the incoming nuclear renaissance can be seen around the world. As of February 1, 2010, there were 54 nuclear reactors under construction, another 148 being planned and 342 being proposed. Canada can and should benefit from this renaissance in the form of job creation, innovation and investment in universities, businesses and communities. In fact, this will guarantee that Canada will train, in English and French, thousands of new engineers, nuclear physicists, welders and so on.

As a result, any action taken by AECL to expand into new markets should directly benefit Canadians. The government partnered with a minority-share-held private sector is the perfect solution to addressing all the problems that exist with the current structure of AECL.

As we have seen in the past, nuclear reactor sales have often been done with the meeting of heads of state, as was the case with AECL's last large deal between the Chrétien government and the Chinese government. AECL is truly a global corporation; Canada has sold CANDU nuclear reactors around the world, including in Argentina, Romania, South Korea, China, Pakistan and India.

Before certain senators opposite say that AECL is but a small player among other bigger corporations with different technologies, I would like to point out that AECL fills a void in the nuclear market and has effectively become an expert in a niche market. Just as Bombardier has become an important player in the market of small business jets, AECL has become synonymous with safe, efficient and reliable nuclear energy production using non-enriched uranium or recycled nuclear fuel in its heavy water reactors.

The nuclear industry in Canada employs roughly 70,000 people and is composed of academics, researchers, scientists, small businesses, utility companies, provincial governments and the federal government.

Canadian control of AECL is essential in preserving existing jobs and creating new ones. People in the academic field have often said that, without AECL, there would no be leading nuclear science faculties in Canada. Canada has trained many of its nuclear specialists in the many faculties our universities have. The loss of control of AECL to a foreign government would lead to the loss of new graduates in the field of nuclear science, along with a reduced need for parallel fields such as engineering, law, finance, et cetera.

Our competitors are funded by their governments and, as such, have immense monetary resources. They will not think twice about swallowing our talented workers in this field. Honourable senators, you must think of this industry as nation to nation, and, if Canada will not defend our nuclear industry, another country will conquer it and take it as their own.

AECL is a strategic industry and, as such, demands protections that will ensure the safety of Canadians. Forfeiting this sector to another country would devastate our sovereignty and our ability to control critical infrastructures such as nuclear reactors. We cannot afford to eliminate our energy independence, nor can we accept foreign countries appropriating all our scientists and technologies.

Honourable senators, we have a duty as legislators to act in the best interest of our fellow citizens but we are occasionally confronted with the obligation to consider the best interest of the world. In an age of fragile world security, Canada must remain a strong voice on the international scene.

As we saw last month, the international community judged Canada harshly at the United Nations for its positions on the international scene. AECL is a perfect tool for a renewal of Canadian diplomacy around the world and as the torchbearer of the electrification of small and developing countries.

AECL is a strong diplomatic tool. The threat of nuclear proliferation is still very present. One only has to look at countries such as Iran, North Korea or even terrorist groups. AECL's CANDU nuclear reactors are the ideal product for exporting safe and reliable nuclear energy to developing countries because they use non-enriched uranium that cannot be refined into weapons grade material using the CANDU technology. This unique characteristic gives AECL's products a competitive edge versus ore technologies offered by other manufacturers and serves to preserve geopolitical balances of power in sensitive regions.

Moreover, Canada's reputation to provide leading edge technology without the political compromises that other companies might enforce gives CANDU reactors a special status when dealing with other countries that need more energy to develop their economies.

Bill S-225 also addresses another important component of AECL's mandate, which is to produce medical isotopes that are critical in treating and diagnosing a wide range of diseases. Canada provides over 50 per cent of the global supply of medical isotopes for nuclear medicine used in over 50,000 procedures per day, 5,000 of those in Canada. This bill will ensure that the federal government continues its responsibility to Canadians and to the world to insure a secure supply of medical isotopes. The recent medical isotope shortage illustrates the need for a secure and well managed supply of these diagnostic and treatment materials.

The government needs to make a public commitment to keep the Chalk River NRU reactor operational beyond the arbitrary date of 2016, as long as necessary and until secure alternative supplies of isotopes or alternative radiopharmaceuticals are proven and are in place.

Chalk River Laboratories remains Canada's nuclear research laboratory. It employs over 2,700 people, supports a scientific community of over 400 researchers and engineers from the Canadian industry, government and over 50 university departments across Canada. It also supports operations in a global network of neutron beam facilities, attracting collaboration with over 100 institutions from more than 20 countries.

The Minister of Natural Resources has even confirmed in a letter dated October 4, 2010, that one of the priorities of the Government of Canada is the secure supply of medical isotopes for the Canadian health care system. This is contrary to the same minister's position at the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance when admitting that the government was 100 per cent behind the sale of AECL. I ask you, honourable senators, when will this Conservative government take actions to stand up for the best interests of Canadians?

At the Canadian Medical Association's 2009 General Council, delegates adopted a motion that, in part, called on the federal government to retain Canada's leadership and ability to produce and export medical isotopes and reconsider its decision to withdraw from their production.

The government's decision to abandon Canada's international responsibilities and world leadership in this sector is counter to the government's own innovation and productivity agenda. Basing Canada's supply strategy on relicensing of the Chalk River reactor five years past its current licence, with no current guarantees that the plant will be operational and remain in production, in the absence of a contingency plan if, in 2016, alternative sources of supply and/or alternative emerging technology do not meet clinical needs, is unacceptable.

The government's decision to abandon Canada's long-standing international leadership in this sector is disheartening, and the absence of both immediate and medium-term solutions to address the current and impending challenges facing nuclear medicine is unacceptable.

The shutdown of Chalk River resulted in roughly 12,000 fewer medical exams using medical isotopes. This is unacceptable. AECL provides 70,000 people with a living and also ensures that thousands of Canadians stay alive. I do not need to remind honourable senators of the despicable comments of the former minister for natural resources, Lisa Raitt, proudly stating that the medical isotope crisis was "sexy" as an example of this Conservative government's disregard for Canadians' health. I invite you to remember this when you decide whether to support the bill.

Some of my honourable colleagues have insisted that AECL can be divided up without any impact on the quality of the research and products this corporation produces. This is ludicrous. AECL is all about interdependence: the interdependence of the NRU with the medical isotope business, the interdependence of AECL with the support of the federal government and finally the interdependence of the thousands of small and medium businesses that create and supply tools and materials needed by AECL to effectively fulfill its mandate.

Furthermore, control of AECL by the federal government will guarantee that monies are invested in nuclear research. Research is by nature not a profit-making operation. However, it is morally necessary as well as being a critical element of the success of AECL's CANDU reactor business.

And control by the federal government will ensure that Canadians have a secure and reliable supply of medical isotopes, that our brightest nuclear scientists continue their research, which will lead to medical breakthroughs, and that AECL is better able to build class-leading nuclear reactors that are economical, reliable and safe.

I would like to set the record straight regarding figures that my colleagues opposite have often thrown around regarding the cost of AECL to the Canadian taxpayer. They have often claimed that AECL has gobbled close to $20 billion of taxpayers' money in 50 years. Even if this figure were true, that would represent $400 million per year. To put that into perspective, the Conservative government spent $850 million for the two-day long G8 and G20 summits. That amount represents over two years of investment in AECL. One of these two things is a waste of taxpayers' money, and certainly AECL is not.

Does the Conservative government really want to abandon the 1.5 billion in tax revenue to the federal government and the provinces? I do not think I need to remind honourable senators that we have a $50-billion-plus budget deficit.

To understand the true cost, we must separate investments in research and development from operational budgets. Research will never generate profits; it is an activity that is time-consuming, costly and requires highly specialized professionals to accomplish. The investments made in R&D have benefited the reactor business and will continue to do so for years to come. Our reactors are popular around the world, and steps must be taken to maintain our ability to satisfy a growing demand for nuclear energy.

Let me cite a witness at a Bill C-9 budget hearing this summer:

Argentina just passed a bill — it took longer than expected — through their congress in November last year to refurbish their existing CANDU reactor and also to build two new CANDU reactors. It was, so to speak, in our backyard. We had that job locked up, but they kept trying to get a signal from the Canadian government as to where they stood. If they did the restructuring, would they still be behind the business somehow? Would they still keep a piece of the company? They did not get any response and, frankly, they are fed up.

— and contemplating suing the federal government.

When will this government start aiding Canadians who need jobs during these hard economic times and protecting this proud Canadian industry? We have countries willing to buy our products, yet this government is telling them to go look somewhere else. This is beyond reason.

AECL is an organization working for the good of Canadians and humanity. Its discoveries are part of our heritage and our common intellectual property. Millions of dollars have been injected into nuclear research in Canada, which has resulted in discoveries heralded around the world. Some senators may cringe, but I will say to them that we must not repeat the mistake we made with the Avro Arrow. We must defend this industry tooth and nail and take steps to ensure that its renewal leads to prosperity rather than depriving the corporation of a place on the world stage.

If we support the reorganization of AECL by giving a solid minority interest to the private sector, Canada will remain a leader in nuclear science and will benefit from the looming renaissance of the nuclear industry. Developing countries such as China, India and Brazil have an insatiable appetite for energy and non-renewable resources. CANDU reactors are a means of meeting their energy needs, while mitigating the environmental impact of their energy consumption.

Our competitors are funded by their governments and, as such, have immense monetary resources. They will not think twice about swallowing our talented workers in this field. Honourable senators, you must think of this industry as a nation-to-nation business and, if Canada will not defend our nuclear industry, another country will conquer it and take it as their own.

Minister Paradis recently promised that a decision would be made in the near future. The government has already taken too long to table the options that have been under review for several years now. The government promised to submit all this information to parliamentarians for a frank and open discussion. While we are waiting to hear the government's suggestions, talented men and women are waiting impatiently for the government to take a rational position.

Innovative components have allowed for the modernization of current reactors, in terms of both design and composite materials, and new markets have opened up as a result of the new generation of CANDU reactors. Canada thus has the high level of expertise needed to meet the energy challenge facing humankind. Our nuclear industry is ready, and we hope that we can begin moving forward immediately.


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