Good evening. My name is Lillian Kruzsely, and I'm currently an undergraduate political science student at the University of Ottawa. I've been volunteering as an assistant for an MP, working on the briefing questions for the witness panels of the status of women committee.
I would like to start my statement for today on a few topics of interest to this discussion that were present at the World Social Forum, which occurred in Montreal just a few months ago, its first time in the northern hemisphere. The panels I attended were hosted by veterans of the nuclear-free coalition, like Kevin Kamps from Beyond Nuclear, Arnold Gundersen from Fairwinds Energy Education, and Angela Bischoff from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. Two of the subjects discussed sparked concern for me about our country's national security and public safety.
First, there was an operation of concern that came to me, and that was the previous government's intention to transport highly enriched uranium from a geological repository in Chalk River to one in South Carolina in the United States on the basis of lessening the risk of nuclear terrorism. This waste was imported from America to begin with, and now the transportation back there presents a threat to our security. A missile would not have to be nuclear to cause a Chernobyl-type disaster if it came in contact with these transports.
Second, a more common security concern, not just applicable to Canada but internationally, is the dilemma of labelling geological repositories. The dilemma with this is deciding whether or not to label where nuclear waste is located. If yes, it becomes labelled and is an apparent security threat for attack. If not, it remains a public safety concern because many years from now it may accidentally become exposed, and it would still be just as radioactive and just as severe a threat.
I would like to know the current committee's position on these threats. Are you looking to continue these operations? What additional steps would you be willing to take, if any, to increase the security of these transports? If you are in favour of re-evaluating these deals that occurred between Stephen Harper and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission as a result of commitments made out of the 2012 Global Nuclear Security Summit, then please interact with the public on these matters as you proceed forward.