Natural Resources Committee on Nov. 24th, 2025

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

If you are giving me a tax credit, then you are giving me money. I can assure you of that.

[Jeff Labonté]

Yes, if you will.

Some activities are eligible for a tax credit, but the companies have to submit an application to the Canada Revenue Agency. They have to reach a certain emissions reduction threshold to get the tax credit. There are things that have to be checked to ensure that the reduction thresholds were met.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Labonté.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you, Mr. Simard and Mr. Labonté.

We'll go to our second round, colleagues, starting with Mr. Tochor and followed by Mr. Hogan and Mr. Simard.

Mr. Tochor, you have five minutes.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Have any of NRCan's staff been seconded to the MPO?

[Jeff Labonté]

Yes, we have a number of staff—I think there are four—who were seconded to work at the MPO.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Did any of the projects referred to the MPO have outstanding NRCan permits?

[Jeff Labonté]

The Department of Natural Resources' primary responsibility for regulating activities is under the Explosives Act. At this point, I don't know whether any projects had specific outstanding explosive permit applications.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Was NRCan asked for input into any of the MPO referral lists?

[Jeff Labonté]

Most certainly, it was. The Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Transport Canada, the Privy Council Office, and Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada—all the departments that have a significant amount of work that would contribute to an assessment of a project, whether it's economic, regulatory, indigenous participation or indigenous relationships—contributed to the assessment of different projects.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

I'm changing gears to go back to Chalk River and the nuclear labs, because I think that is the most pressing issue right now in the nuclear community in Canada.

Regarding the new GoCo contract to manage Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, what requirements for Canadian content were there to ensure that American companies managing one of Canada's most important scientific assets will be maximized for the benefit of Canada?

[Michael Vandergrift]

If I could take a step back, this contract was run by AECL, which is a Crown corporation, and an independent agency with an independent board. They ran a competitive procurement process, and it was AECL's decision as to whether or not to award the contract based upon the results of that competitive process.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

The Government of Canada could step in, though. If it was a foreign entity that risks our sovereignty and some of our technology, the Canadian government could step in.

[Michael Vandergrift]

This was run by AECL according to their requirements.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

There's nothing the government can do, then, to stop Americans from taking over our nuclear labs. I have a hard time believing that to be true.

I'll cede my time to Jonathan Rowe, please.

[Jonathan Rowe, Conservative, Terra Nova—The Peninsulas, NL]

Mr. Chair, I would like to move the following motion, which was put on notice on October 17, 2025, by MP Shannon Stubbs:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on the decision of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and the Liberal government to award a contract reportedly worth $1.2 billion per year to a consortium entirely composed of U.S. companies to manage Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, and, for the purpose of this study:

(a) schedule no fewer than three meetings;

(b) invite the Minister of Natural Resources to appear, by himself, for one hour;

(c) invite appropriate officials from AECL, including Fred Dermarkar, President and CEO;

(d) invite appropriate officials from Natural Resources Canada;

(e) invite appropriate officials from the Treasury Board Secretariat;

(f) invite other witnesses the committee deems appropriate; and

(g) order the production of all memoranda, briefing notes, e-mails, text messages, instant messages, records of conversations, and any other relevant documents related to this decision in the possession of AECL, Natural Resources Canada, any minister’s office, the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Privy Council Office, and the Prime Minister’s Office, and that these documents are to be submitted to the clerk of the committee in both official languages and without redaction within three weeks of the adoption of this motion.

I'm not going to read it in French, just to spare myself the embarrassment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you, Mr. Rowe.

Colleagues, this is up for discussion, as you know, and we're going to start with Mr. Tochor, followed by Mr. Guay and then Mr. Danko.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Thank you, Chair.

To the committee, I think what we've heard today is a bit of a cover-up. An all-American group will be in charge of our nuclear labs in Canada, with all the research and all the technological breakthroughs we've had with medical isotopes. The concerns we have—for example, that the Competition Bureau has investigated and found this would create a monopoly on our medical isotopes, which would be controlled by another country—are things that I think all Canadians should be alarmed about. We have heard that this can't be stopped, that it is in AECL's hands and that it has nothing to do with the government, but these are taxpayers' dollars. This is Canadian technology that is about to be transferred to Americans to manage for their benefit, not ours. That in itself is worth the study, along with the other points that this study would get into.

We don't know how much this has cost. It's a big black hole. They won't tell us—is it $1 billion, or is it $2 billion a year? We heard earlier today that the minister wasn't concerned or that there was no taxpayer cost for the delay in the handover of this management contract. However, whistle-blowers and sources have said that there are tens of millions of dollars on the line or that it has been rushed to get approval as a stopgap between the American takeover and the Canadians who are running it right now. It's a little concerning.

We have things such as hot cells that can't just be walked away from, and we have contractors who are now being ordered or asked to continue with some of the operations for safety. How much are those contractors getting paid? When the ministers say there are no additional charges for this delay, that's patently false.

I will go back to what they do at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. It's our cutting-edge research into nuclear technologies. I'm grateful that this government has recently found the benefit of nuclear and has spoken kind words about how this is a strategic resource for Canada, but that strategic resource is built at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, and we're giving that away to American companies to manage. This has significant implications for our energy security, our medical isotope sovereignty and the future of nuclear research in Canada.

The study in the motion—

[Claude Guay, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

What's your point of order, Mr. Guay?

[Claude Guay, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

It's just a question. I'm not experienced in committees. How long is Mr. Tochor going to go on like this?

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

He has the floor.

[Claude Guay, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

For how long?

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

This is in order.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

I will be wrapping up. I have a minute left in my comments.