Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the standing committee.
My name is Linda Thompson. I'm the mayor of the Municipality of Port Hope. I'm also a member of the Canadian Association of Nuclear Host Communities.
Our association chair is Mayor Ryan of the City of Pickering. Unfortunately, he cannot be here today. I'm therefore acting on behalf of Mayor Ryan, and in his capacity I appear before you today.
As noted, Mr. Wu is our association's secretary-treasurer and he is also the chief administrative officer with the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario. Mr. Wu will be assisting me, if you have any questions.
The Canadian Association of Nuclear Host Communities, also known as CANHC, is comprised of ten municipalities located in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and New Brunswick. These municipalities proudly host various nuclear-related facilities, such as power generation stations, research facilities, and nuclear industries, which are vital to Canada's continuing supply of electricity. As well, they contribute to the prosperity and economic development of our communities.
Our member municipalities are in the province of Ontario, the county of Bruce, the municipality of Clarington, the town of Deep River, the region of Durham, the municipality of Kincardine, the city of Pickering, and the municipality of Port Hope. In the province of Quebec, we have the town of Bécancour; in the province of New Brunswick, the city of Saint John; and in the province of Manitoba, the district of Pinawa.
First and foremost, CANHC welcomes and supports the general thrust of Bill C-5. Over the past few years, our association has continually urged the government to increase the liability insurance and compensation limits for nuclear facilities and it is most pleased that government is taking a very positive step in this direction.
Specifically, we're very encouraged to see that Bill C-5 provides for three very important elements, being the increase in the liability insurance to be carried by nuclear operators, the ability to establish a tribunal for the timely and orderly settlement of claims, and of course the regular review of the amount of insurance coverage that is required.
While our association generally endorses these provisions, we do feel these provisions can be strengthened in the following manner. Firstly, on the limit of the liability, our association is of the opinion that the $650 million is not sufficient insurance coverage, particularly in locations where a nuclear facility is located in a densely populated area, such as in the city of Pickering, where some 80,000 people live within ten kilometres of the Pickering nuclear facility.
The $650 million would work out to a little over $8,000 per person, a rather inadequate amount under the scenario of a nuclear disaster. We understand that there are compensation benchmarks established in European communities, but we would urge the committee to consider the unique challenges faced by nuclear host communities, with nuclear facilities installed in our backyards.
Secondly, the principle of establishing a tribunal to handle claims is a reasonable approach; however, we ask that such a tribunal be totally independent and that a timeframe be entrenched in the legislation or regulations to ensure that all claims are in fact processed in a timely manner, without causing further undue hardship.
Lastly, we would ask that Bill C-5 contemplates the regular review of the amount of insurance coverage at least once very five years. We understand and support the rationale for regular reviews; however, we would suggest that Bill C-5 should also provide for an automatic annual indexing of the coverage, with a more comprehensive review to be undertaken every five years.
In addition to the foregoing comments, our association wants to see clarity in the bill pertaining to compensation for the nuclear host communities. We all know that in the unlikely event of a major nuclear incident, these municipalities will be burdened with the need to repair or replace damage to municipal buildings and infrastructure, of course, such as roads, bridges, water and sewage plants, etc.; the huge cost of providing emergency services such as police, fire, paramedic services, as well as providing for evacuation, emergency shelters, and recovery efforts; and the very significant economic loss as residents and businesses are unlikely to return to the municipality after a nuclear incident, given the inevitable negative media coverage from any nuclear incident.
We believe that such an incident will significantly damage the image of the host municipality, and we do not believe this matter is addressed in Bill C-5. Bill C-5 should therefore clearly identify and provide compensation entitlements to all nuclear host communities and ensure that they be afforded every right to recoup financial and economic loss resulting from damages caused by a nuclear incident.
In summary, our association is supportive of Bill C-5 and strongly urges the committee to give serious consideration to our request to strengthen various provisions of the bill to ensure our residents, businesses, and host municipalities are fairly and quickly compensated for any losses, financial and otherwise, that we may incur as the result of a nuclear incident.
I thank you for the opportunity to come before you and express our views on Bill C-5. And we would be more than happy to answer any questions as they come forward, Mr. Chair.