Evidence of meeting #19 for Natural Resources in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was contract.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Acting Vice President, Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
From a shipping standpoint, the RCMP works alongside local police organizations. They are the ones responsible for organizing the relevant safety plans.
Bloc
Acting Vice President, Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is responsible for shipping.
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
That's right.
Can you give us a list of the municipalities that were informed, regardless of whether they were informed by the RCMP or you? Can you also tell us what information they received?
Acting Vice President, Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
We can give you a list of the municipalities that we consulted and that we've shared information with over the years. However, I should mention that we don't have the information shared by the RCMP with its public safety partners.
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
You're the ones responsible for managing hazards in the event of an accident, and you don't know what information the municipalities received. Is that correct?
Acting Vice President, Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
No, that's not what I said. I said that the RCMP works hand in hand with its public safety partners and that security plans are developed in partnership with them.
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
So you can submit the list of municipalities to us and inform us of the nature of the information. I'm not asking for details because I imagine some things have to be kept secret. Will you be able to submit that to the committee?
Acting Vice President, Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
The fact that fuel was shipped between Gentilly‑1 and Chalk River is not a secret. We discussed it with a number of municipalities.
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
Okay. So you agree to provide us with a list of the municipalities that were informed about the shipment along with details concerning the nature of that information, for which I thank you.
Can you tell us how much it cost to prepare the shipment and ship the material to Chalk River? What will it cost to store it at Chalk River?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Before answering specifically what it costs, the objective of moving the fuel from Bécancour to Chalk River is, in fact, to enhance security by consolidating all the fuel in one site and, especially, to reduce the costs so that we don't have to have the security forces duplicated at both Chalk River and Bécancour.
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
Okay. Can you provide us with information on the costs involved in preparing, shipping and storing this material at Chalk River?
Acting Vice President, Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Yes, I think we received a parliamentary question. It may have come from you.
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
I think so. Will you be submitting that information?
Things move quickly at the end of a parliamentary period. We don't always have time to keep track of everything.
You say it's less expensive to send it to Chalk River. Do you have any comparative costs and can you submit that to us as well? You must have some figures if you say it costs less.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
It costs less because we don't have security teams at each site. There's only one team.
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
Can you submit that to us? You say it's less expensive, so you surely must know the costs.
Acting Vice President, Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
We'll have to check into what we can share with you because some of the information concerns nuclear safety and protection at our sites and we can't send that. We'll see what we can do.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
The one thing we need to protect against is this: We do not want to divulge information that could tell adversaries how many security guards we have, because it creates a vulnerability. The information you're seeking can be used to deduce sensitive information, so—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Terry Duguid
Thank you both.
We go on, in our second round, to Mrs. Gallant for five minutes.
Conservative
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Through you, Mr. Dermarkar, welcome.
Do you or any members of the AECL board have a pecuniary interest in any of the companies within the consortium?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
I can speak for myself because I do not discuss with the board members what their financial interests are. In my case, as a reporting public office holder, I am required to put all of my money in a blind trust. As it is a blind trust, I have no idea what I'm actually holding or what is being held on my behalf by the trustee.
Conservative
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON
Are any of the other board members subject to similar precautions, that you know of?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
The Ethics Commissioner outlines who is a reporting public office holder and who isn't.