Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Madam Auditor General, welcome to you and your colleagues.
As you were giving your overview, I was reminded of the statement that there are three kinds of people: people who make things happen, people who watch things happen, and people who say, “What happened?” I think the public is trying to understand, through this committee, what happened.
In your report you indicated that when your examination was made in 2007, you were not aware of any regulatory compliance issues related to the operation of the NRU reactor and that there was no mention in the report of issues linked to the recent shutdown.
My question is aimed at attempting to take further steps with respect to closing the accountability loop. In other words, where does the buck stop?
Earlier you indicated, with respect to the licensing conditions, that in your examination, between February and October 2006, some licensing issues had cropped up. You also said that timely corrective action was taken to address these situations. My question is this. Had the AECL and the CNSC made an application for regulatory changes under their statutory area, is it possible that if action had been taken at that time, the shutdown of the Chalk River reactor could have been avoided? Did you have any follow-up role with respect to that?
As I say, Madam Auditor General, my question is aimed at knowing what recommendations would be made to close that accountability loop. It is not meant to be unduly investigative or anything like that. Thank you.