Thank you.
My name is Michael Ivanco. I have a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. I'm the vice-president of the Society of Professional Engineers and Associates.
With me today is Peter White, who's president of SPEA. He happens to be an expert in safety analysis, and he is an engineer.
SPEA represents over 900 scientists and engineers who work for Atomic Energy of Canada at Sheridan Park. Our members design the nuclear reactors used in Canada and around the world for nuclear power stations, for research, and for production of medical isotopes. Our members also provide technical support, safety analysis, and a wide range of services for the nuclear industry. We also work closely with the technicians and technologists who provide fabrication, inspection, and testing on a variety of aspects in the nuclear industry.
I'm honoured to be invited here to speak to you about nuclear science. I'm very proud to represent the scientists and engineers who work at AECL and whose qualifications are too many to list. A great number of our members have advanced degrees in a wide variety of specialties, and they've been internationally recognized as experts in their respective fields.
I've worked in the nuclear industry for 24 years, the first 12 at Chalk River Laboratories. I've been at Sheridan Park, at the commercial division in Mississauga, for the last 12 years. My areas of expertise include laser isotope separation, analytical measurement, and product development ranging from heavy water upgraders to reactors serving the maintenance systems.
The majority of our members do not directly support operation of the NRU reactor in Chalk River, but many of them were involved in the life extension beyond 2000 and also in the design and construction of the MAPLE reactors that were meant to replace it. Technical questions regarding the design, repairs, and operability of these reactors are probably best left to management representatives, who are appearing later. They can draw from the expertise of individual members, both our members and those who work at Chalk River, whom we do not represent.
I think Canada has every reason to be proud of the people who've helped make Canada an internationally recognized leader in the production of medical isotopes and nuclear technology, and also the safe, peaceful use of nuclear reactors for the production of electricity. Canada is one of only five nations in the world that can deliver a reactor project anywhere, and it's something we should be proud of.
Much of the success is owed to the support provided by successive federal governments, who have demonstrated their confidence in AECL by providing necessary investments to enable the development of research and designs that could in turn be sold to domestic and international customers. This level of support and the tangible and intangible benefits it has generated has been the subject of many debates in the House of Commons and the subject of countless news articles and commentaries. I hope to avoid repetition of those debates here today, but I won't shrink away from declaring the position of our over 900 members, the related 30,000 jobs in Canada's industry, and the hundreds of thousands of family members, friends, and the Canadian public who support them.
Canadians should be proud of our role in providing medical isotopes, nuclear services, and reactors for peaceful purposes. We've profited from this research and innovation. Canada should continue to support AECL to ensure domestic supply of medical isotopes for Canada and the world, we believe, and we should continue to support AECL to successfully complete the design and generate sales of our newest product, the ACR-1000.
We must look at this as an investment by Canadians in an industry that has paid many dividends. The research that is conducted by AECL benefits Canadians and has established us as a world leader. There are few industries where all aspects are conducted in our own borders. This is the only industry I can think of in Canada where we dig the uranium out of the ground, we refine it, we turn it into fuel, we put it in reactors that we design, build, and make almost all the parts for, and then provide services for. There's no other industry like it, and few people appreciate that.
There has been much said about the sale and privatization of AECL. For the record, our members believe that a sale is likely detrimental to the national interest. We believe that nuclear technology should not be under the control of corporate interests but held by Canadians through their government.
I'd like to point out that the main shareholder of Areva, one of our main competitors, is the French government. It's a fact that escapes many critics of AECL. Areva has been successful in producing and selling its reactors, but it has also had its share of delays and problems with multi-billion-dollar cost overruns in Europe. I raise this only because Canadians have been led to believe that delays and cost overruns are somehow unique to AECL. They're not. As I pointed out earlier, or should have pointed out, the nuclear industry is not a production line company. In our industry, we can't afford a product recall.
Canadian technology is considered among the best in the world. We have an exemplary safety record in this respect.
As this committee is focused on the isotope issue, I'd like to urge you to consider the broader picture and what Canada's role should be in the nuclear industry. The isotope issue is extremely important but is just one aspect of the nuclear industry. We also need to have a discussion on the future of this industry, because that is indeed the question before you. If there's not a thriving industry, there is no isotope issue; we simply would have no isotopes, or we'd be buying them from somebody else.