Good afternoon, Madame Chair and members of the committee.
Thank you for inviting me to appear before you today to provide comments on Bill C-69.
Under our enabling legislation, the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, the NSCA, our mandate is to regulate the use of nuclear energy and materials to protect health, safety, security, and the environment; to implement Canada's international commitment on the peaceful use of nuclear energy; and to disseminate objective scientific, technical, and regulatory information to the public.
The CNSC is a unique regulator. It is unlike any other energy regulator in Canada. As committee members surely know, in nuclear, an accident anywhere is an accident everywhere. That is why Canada established a nuclear regulatory framework that is based on international obligations and treaty-level legal conventions. In my submission, I provide you with a list of key conventions.
The key requirement of the international nuclear safety and security regime is for the countries to have an independent nuclear regulatory body whose decisions are based on the best available scientific and technical information, not subject to government or political review. Further, to ensure compliance with international legal commitments, Canada must regularly report its regulatory performance, undertake peer reviews, and undergo scrutiny by the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA. I've provided the list of peer reviews recently undertaken in Canada in my tabled remarks.
Along with this level of transparency and scrutiny at the international level, we apply rigorous domestic standards and regulatory requirements that we report on. The CNSC is the only energy regulator that publishes annual regulatory oversight reports that assess the safety performance of all its licensees.
All of this brings me to the proposed Bill C-69.
The CNSC has extensive experience in working on environmental assessments. Since 2000, the CNSC has conducted over 70 EAs and appropriately assessed the environmental impacts of all proposed projects. In every case, in the past and in moving forward, one thing remained constant: the CNSC was and always will be the responsible authority for nuclear safety and security.
It seems to me that the notion of environmental assessment as a planning tool has been forgotten. The implementation and operations of a nuclear project may take many, many decades. It is important that the nuclear life-cycle regulator has the tools to make all the improvements and adjustments, including environmental considerations, throughout the life of the project.
Following its review of Bill C-69, the CNSC identified areas of the proposed impact assessment act that could benefit from increased clarity. We understand that the objective is to have one project, one assessment, and we agree. At the same time, to recognize the independence of the CNSC's regulatory decision-making, there must be a clear separation between the impact assessment and the licensing phase of a nuclear project. Furthermore, all conditions under an impact assessment should flow to the CNSC so they can be effectively managed throughout the project's life cycle.
It has been our experience in regulating uranium mines that harmonization with provinces in the licensing of uranium mines has been beneficial and efficient in avoiding duplication. We believe the new impact assessment regime should allow for co-operation and even substitution with provinces. We also are working with the government on implementation processes and timelines.
It is important that we all know, from the get-go, the length of time to get project approval. From our experience, industry can accept a quick “yes” or “no” decision. What is unreasonable is to get a “maybe”. As an example, it has now been more than 15 years since Ontario Power Generation started discussions with us about a deep geological repository, DGR.
A joint review panel was set up under CEAA 1992. Extensive public and indigenous consultations and hearings were held, and a report was submitted to the government in May 2015. A decision is still outstanding. Situations like this need to be avoided in the future.
We are also participating in helping the government in coming up with an effective and reasonable designated project list. In our view, not all nuclear activities and facilities need to undergo a review panel process. For example, an isotope cyclotron in a hospital, a small research facility or refurbishing a nuclear power plant to make it safer—all such projects should be left to the CNSE to regulate under the NSEA.
I would like to close by affirming that the CNSE supports the Government of Canada's proposed changes to policy and legislation to announce the impact assessment process. We look forward to further collaboration with the new Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to clarify requirements and effectively implement the act.
Thank you and I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.