Thank you, Chair. Many others I wouldn't forgive, but because it's you....
I have a few questions that I want to ask Mr. McEwan with respect to the charts and things.
First, I want to thank Ms. Chitra for her comments with respect to the time that it would probably take, assuming that it's a software fix and assuming that you can get the technical data on the MAPLES unit. It fits a little bit better in line with Mr. Labrie's comments, on July 28, in the National Post, where he said:
...in the best-case scenario, at least five to six years of intensive research and analysis before we can even consider bringing the MAPLE reactors on-line.
I think that is definitely a long-term solution for this issue, even if it is a solution.
Mr. McEwan, I'm talking about your charts here, about the spikes as you're going along here. What is causing the spikes on the upside, in the troughs? And what are the conditions that would be lending themselves to that?
The second question is also picking up on one of the comments by Mr. West where he talked about the fact that the actual impact of the shortage has been mitigated by patient scheduling, a greater overall efficiency in worker hours. We all know that the work hours is a short-term solution. They cannot sustain that. We all know that. But have there been some significant benefits gained by the process efficiencies that would actually reduce the long-term demand when isotope production is back?