Thanks, Chair.
Thanks to all of you for coming today.
My first question goes to NRCan. The nuclear industry is an industry, of course, but it's a very unique industry because of the severe consequences of any potential accident. Nuclear safety plays a key role, and I would say probably the most critical role, in shaping our current nuclear industry.
Nuclear labs such as the Chalk River labs have played a major role in Canadian nuclear R and D and in ensuring the safety of nuclear operations for probably more than six decades already. Following the independent review process in 2011, a new organization, known as Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, was created to manage the AECL's nuclear labs under a government-owned, contractor-operated model. What was the rationale behind the move to this new model? Was it financially motivated?
I checked your slides. They say you introduced this model to “reduce costs”. Can you tell us what is your projection for the difference between these two models? Also, what is the reduced risk to the taxpayer? I am not very convinced, because it is still government-owned, so any risk will still go to Canadians through the government.
Under the government model, nuclear safety, reliability, and security were the key, but what about the current model? What are the criteria the government uses to evaluate the performance of those contractors? Do you have any idea or policy you want to compare in terms of those two models?
Also, what role can the government play to ensure that safety remains the most important or primary concern and the top priority for Canadians?