Good evening, Mr. Chairman, committee members, and members of the public. I'm here today to speak on behalf of Canada's nuclear industry.
The Canadian Nuclear Association has some 100 member companies, representing 71,000 people employed in the production and advancement of nuclear medicine, uranium mining and exploration, fuel processing, and electricity generation.
Our members will be affected by the amendments in the budget bill, in particular the amendments to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, and the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.
Our members are highly familiar with this legislation, as we've complied with it for over 50 years. As a matter of fact, June 4 is the 50th anniversary of nuclear power generation in Canada. It will also mark our 50 years of safe operations and strong environmental stewardship by our industry.
Given our experience, we welcome the efforts to modernize Canada's regulatory system. In the World Economic Forum's 2011-12 global competitiveness report, bureaucratic inefficiency is the largest barrier to doing business in Canada. The report ranks Canada's regulatory burden the 48th highest out of 142 countries.
CNA members are optimistic that the proposed amendments will increase not only the efficiency but also the effectiveness of Canada's regulatory system. We expect the amendments to enhance job creation and economic growth and to protect the environment. This is good for Canada.
Upon reviewing the budget bill amendments, we found the following. Number one, the bill has taken great strides towards achieving the goal of one project, one review in a clearly defined time period. Number two, its reduced overlap and duplication will not only limit the one project to one review, but it will strengthen the environmental protection. And number three, the effectiveness of the amendments will be demonstrated through compliance with the newly established timelines and regulations.
Allow me to elaborate. With respect to achieving the goal of one project, one review in a clearly defined period, several of the amendments are aimed at reducing overlap and duplication through delegation, substitution, equivalency, and fixed timelines. We see all of these as useful options that should be available to all industries.
Amendments to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act will allow the delegation or substitution of one environmental assessment process for another. This has the potential to reduce multiple layers of overlapping environmental assessment processes to a single, effective process.
We were extremely disappointed to discover that under this new act federal and provincial equivalency will not be made available to our industry. So our uranium mine members, which may be better served by a provincial environmental assessment process, will not have the same opportunities as other metal mines will have.
There's nothing to be lost in making federal-provincial equivalency available to all industries. The goal is not to reduce the environmental scrutiny that our industry is subject to, but to improve the overall regulatory system so that it fosters environmentally responsible economic activity.
We believe the reduced overlap and duplication will strengthen the environmental protection. Limiting one project to one review is not only more efficient, it's more cost-effective, allowing resources to be applied where they can achieve the greatest environmental benefit.
It's not difficult to imagine how some 40 different agencies, each with their own regulatory processes, could draw resources—valuable human resources—away from what matters to the environment. Resources, such as time and budget, could be and will be dedicated to improving oversight and therefore compliance. For example, the conduct of some 37 environmental assessments at Chalk River Laboratories has consumed considerable resources. These resources could have been spent on environmental redemption or other beneficial environmental initiatives, rather than on the regulatory process.
We appreciate the renewed focus the budget bill brings to what matters to the environment. That being said, we believe the true blue test of the budget bill's effectiveness will be the federal government's ability to comply with the legislated timelines it has introduced.
The bill promises legislated timelines for a number of permits and authorizations. These timelines can take anywhere from two to five years to develop. The development of these supporting regulations is particularly pressing right now, today, given the proposed increases to penalties under the Fisheries Act and the establishment of an administrative monetary penalty system under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.
There needs to be a clearly defined path to compliance. This will be provided in part through the newly developed regulations. As an industry, we are committed to working with the federal government to implement the budget bill amendments and to develop these supporting regulations.
In summary, our members are very supportive of a regulatory system that reduces duplication, establishes clear timelines, and focuses on what matters to the environment. We are optimistic that the budget bill amendments will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of Canada's regulatory system while protecting the environment. We see the modernization of Canada's regulatory system as a positive initiative for Canadians. It will allow Canada's nuclear industry to continue to provide highly skilled jobs, strong economies, and, above all, safe, clean, reliable, and affordable power in the energy-hungry world we live in today.
Thank you very much.