Good morning, and thank you.
The Government of Canada uses part of its tax revenue to put in place the infrastructure that supports the quality of life that we enjoy here in Canada. My submission today addresses the need for an investment in a piece of our infrastructure that is critical for both science and industry.
Since I wrote my original brief back in August, events have overtaken us. The current crisis in the medical isotope supply, especially for moly-99, now underlies the critical role that the NRU reactor has been playing for at least 20 years. The maintenance-related shutdown that has precipitated this crisis highlights the urgent need for a replacement.
Although NRU is now 50 years old, the world depends on it for one-half to two-thirds of all of its medical isotopes. The innovative and flexible design of the NRU has enabled it to dominate an industry that was invented by Canadians and that barely existed when NRU was originally built.
A new research reactor will provide medical isotopes, enable cutting-edge materials development and engineering research, and provide a solid knowledge-based foundation for the development of next-generation power reactors. It is a national issue that transcends the mandates of individual departments or agencies. It relates to science, energy, health, environment, international relations, and education. It is a fundamental piece of Canada's infrastructure for science and industry, and it represents an opportunity for leadership in vision from the centre of government.
I believe that we now stand at a crossroads in neutron research. Science and technology are poised to change in many fields, and we have an opportunity to be leaders, building on the legacy of those who designed and built NRU.
Generation IV is an international collaboration to develop advanced fuel cycles and radically new reactor designs to increase our utilization of nuclear fuels by up to 100 times. The proven uranium reserves in Saskatchewan will last us 60 years at the current usages, but under a Generation IV system they could be supplying our electricity power needs for thousands of years. A flexible research reactor would provide a crucial test environment for the development of fuel elements and materials that would withstand the extreme conditions that will exist in a Generation IV core. We have led the world with CANDU; we can be at the front with Generation IV.
We have already dominated the world supply of cobalt-60 and moly-99, providing treatments for up to 20 million patients per year out of Canadian reactor-derived isotopes. The new compounds and isotopes are constantly being developed for more targeted treatment and diagnoses. We invented the medical isotope business, but we need to continue to innovate if we are to continue to create new markets and develop new products. A flexible research reactor capable of both production of existing products and development of new ones will keep us at the forefront of this critical field.
The foundations of neutron beam research were laid by Canadians working at the NRU. The triple-axis spectrometer, which earned Professor Brockhouse his Nobel Prize in 1994, and the engineering stress scanner were both invented at NRU and are now to be found in every single neutron beam research facility in the world. Canadians are taking the lead in new fields, using cold neutrons to study biological systems, using reflectometry to investigate corrosion and bio-compatible codings for medical implants, and developing neutron holography to study the structure of proteins in their native functional state. A powerful state-of-the-art facility is essential to keep this research alive and in Canada.
Eight hundred million dollars is a lot of money. If we build the CNC, it will generate 2,500 person-years of engineering design work, 2,500 person-years of manufacturing work, 4,000 person-years of construction and administration work that will appear here in Canada, generating tax revenues and jobs within Canada. Approximately $160 million of business will be generated for small and medium-sized enterprises developing and producing reactor components. This is expertise that is technically advanced, and that will be developed within Canada, allowing us to compete in the growing world market for nuclear power reactors.
NRU cost $500 million in current money and has clearly paid back its investment very handsomely. When the CNC is operating, Canada will have a state-of-the-art research facility that will enable innovation in reactor design, medical isotopes, and materials research. Thousands of researchers, scientists, engineers, and students will bring their products and ideas to the new facility. They will build on the strong tradition of excellence established at the NRU.
Where will the CNC lead us? To be honest, I have no idea, but when the NRU was built, nobody was thinking about advanced fuel cycles. Nuclear power was just starting to be adopted, and nobody was concerned about global warming or the environmental impact of our overuse of fossil fuels, yet it has underpinned the development and export of CANDU nuclear reactors that generate clean, reliable electricity around the world.
The CNC will continue Canada's leadership in the peaceful use of nuclear power, a role we adopted when we became the first nuclear-capable nation that did not build a nuclear bomb.
When NRU was built, Canadians were just inventing the medical isotope business. The world had never heard of moly-99. Now everyone knows at least one person who has benefited from either treatment or diagnosis from medical isotopes. The CNC will enable both the production of existing products and the development of new ones.
When NRU was built, most of the materials and technologies that have transformed our lives were unknown. The first silicon transistor was made the year before NRU came online. High-Tc superconductors would not have been believed. The shape-memory alloys, central to many medical implants, were unknown. Plastics were just junk.