No.
Evidence of meeting #39 for Natural Resources in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was binder.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #39 for Natural Resources in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was binder.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
11:50 a.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
The only commissioner I knew was the ex-president.
11:50 a.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
In fact we were colleagues for a few months in the Department of Industry.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
Okay, fair enough.
So based upon your working relationship with Ms. Keen, were you surprised when she was fired as president of the commission?
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
And I presume you were surprised because the impression you had formed of her was of a competent, professional individual.
11:50 a.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
She was an ADM in Industry Canada and she had responsibility for something completely different from my area of responsibility. I was doing something else. So I don't know anything about her working competency, but she seemed fine.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
Right. But you had heard nothing by way of substantiated rumours that she wasn't doing the job effectively.
11:50 a.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
No, I didn't follow the matter.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
When AECL unilaterally made the decision to discontinue the MAPLE project, what was your reaction to that, Dr. Binder?
11:50 a.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
I wasn't surprised, because, as I've said before, they were not able to explain the physics of their reactor. They've been trying very hard and doing all kinds of experiments to try to understand how it operates--the physics of it and that different configuration. Different pressures and different things change the configuration.
They've been trying for a long time to understand and predict its behaviour, because without being able to predict its behaviour, you cannot assure safety, because you don't know what's going to happen.
Our staff, along with them, have been trying to figure out what it is, to allow them to experiment with this. It's been years and years, and still to this day, there is no answer. So I was not surprised--
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
The reason I ask, Doctor, is that MDS Nordion was, in their phrasing, very surprised, to the point of being shocked at the decision by AECL to discontinue the reactor. Were you aware of that?
11:55 a.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Yes, I've heard the testimony, but I think that the surprise was that the scientists couldn't fix it. That's the surprise.
11:55 a.m.
Liberal
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
Dr. Lockyer, if I can ask you, sir, what was your reaction to the decision by AECL to discontinue the MAPLE project?
11:55 a.m.
Director, TRIUMF
I didn't follow it from the beginning, so I don't consider myself an expert on it. It was mere interest. I read it. I listened to it. I read the testimony here.
11:55 a.m.
Liberal
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
In your considered or expert opinion, is the MAPLE project definitely a no go?
11:55 a.m.
Director, TRIUMF
It seems as though you've spent a long time trying to make it work. That's what I would say. And you've spent a lot of money trying to make it work.