This bill is from the 39th Parliament, 2nd session, which ended in September 2008.
Gary Lunn Conservative
This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.
This is from the published bill.
This enactment permits Atomic Energy of Canada Limited to resume and continue the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk River in Ontario for a period of 120 days despite certain conditions of its licence under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-38s:
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:15 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Ms. Keen, just to be clear, would it help you to have in Bill C-38 a clause explicitly asserting that nothing derogates from your authority in respect of Chalk River during this 120 day period?
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:15 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Mr. Chair, I am a material scientist, just like the people who are at this table are engineers and scientists. I am not a lawyer and so I would not be able to comment on that.
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:15 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Mr. Chair, I have a question of AECL. Could you run though very quickly why you need 120 days to get the second pump going? What is the technical rationale for 120 days? Can you guarantee the House that you can get the job done in 120 days?
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:15 p.m.
Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer
Mr. Chair, the 120 days is a rough approximation of the time at risk argument that was added to the safety case. Essentially, what time at risk means is that the risk is acceptable for a period of time. That is roughly where it came from.
In order for pump four to return to normal isotope production, the installation of the upgrade would need to be done during those four day outages on a monthly basis. That will represent a challenge for us. I do not want to mislead the member or Parliament. That will be a challenge for us, but it is an achievable outcome.
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:15 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Just so I am clear, Mr. McGee, are you are telling the House that you can do it in 120 days?
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:15 p.m.
Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer
Mr. Chair, I think the member is seeking guarantees. We believe we can do it but we are talking about machinery and equipment. We are talking about unforeseen things that happen as you execute a schedule. It is a complex piece of work that has to be done in sequence, so we will have to do part of it during an outage and then go back to power and do another part of it. We believe it can be done during that period of time. I would have to stop short. I would be misleading the member if I said that I guarantee it.
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:15 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Mr. Chair, I would like to follow up on that. Subclause (2) of the bill states:
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited may resume and continue the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk River only if it is satisfied that it is safe to do so.
Can we in the House be assured that you would work cooperatively with the regulator on the safety issues so that the public can be assured that you have been in dialogue with the regulator to make sure that when you restart you are safe to do so, understanding the authority that this act gives you to restart under these suspension of licence conditions?
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:15 p.m.
Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer
Mr. Chair, I want to make sure I understand the question correctly, but I will answer it this way. We do have a strong relationship with the CNSC staff. We work closely with them I believe. There are always opportunities for improvement but I think there is a strong, cooperative effort on both sides of the relationship. Regardless of the legislation, I intend to continue to work with CNSC staff on that level.
The House has my commitment that before I declare that reactor safe to operate now or in the future, I will be assured that it is safe. I take that responsibility seriously. It is my accountability.
Earlier, Dr. Torgerson said that a strong regulator was an important part of that overall safety network. This is an industry that is preoccupied by safe operation, and the regulatory framework and the regulator itself is a critical part of that.
Out of respect for that and my commitment to safe operation, I will work continuously with staff to ensure we are doing the right things.
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:20 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Mr. Chair, the House, just so it is clear, is questioning Mr. McGee's devotion to safety, his good intentions, or his commitment to doing the right thing, but that was not the question. The question is whether, as he works to complete this and restart and get all the pump work done, he will work with the regulator to make sure that he is compliant.
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:20 p.m.
Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer
Mr. Chair, the answer to that is, yes, we will.
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:20 p.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Chair, my question is for Mr. McGee and/or the AECL representatives. Have they ever concealed any facts from the regulator?
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:20 p.m.
Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer
Mr. Chair, at no time did we knowingly conceal anything. As I mentioned earlier, from a personal integrity point of view, since I am the licence holder and I am the person who is ultimately accountable for the safety of my people on that site, the safety of the site, the facilities and the surrounding public, at no point did we mislead the regulator deliberately. If there has been a question of that, then it was nothing that was done with any intent.
As I said earlier, it is clear from our review of the documentation of both parties that the information is out there and known and we have already committed to provide that to Parliament.
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:20 p.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Chair, on February 19, 2007, there was an article in the Toronto Star that read:
At one point, AECL concealed safety problems from the watchdog for almost three months
AECL is at fault regarding the cancer patients who have been denied isotopes. It is the root of the problem. Why would we make it the solution? Why should AECL be charged with determining the safety of reactors when it has been so negligent and defiant to meeting standards in the past? Is this not putting the fox in charge of the hen house?
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:20 p.m.
Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer
Mr. Chair, I am not familiar with the stories that the member is quoting so I am really not in a position to comment on them.
All I can do is reinforce my commitment to safety that is supported by a demonstrated track record in that regard.
Sitting ResumedAn Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Research Universal Reactor at Chalk RiverGovernment Orders
December 11th, 2007 / 11:20 p.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. McGee, you are responsible for the isotopes. You have caused this problem. Is that correct, yes or no?