Mr. Speaker, in 1996 the Prime Minister gave the OK for up to 100 tonnes of MOX plutonium to be burned in Canadian CANDU reactors. We will shortly be receiving a second shipment of this radioactive material from Russia.
The attitude of the government is deplorable, especially during Environment Week. With no public consultation whatsoever on importing this dangerous substance, it is acting in an underhanded manner, to the detriment of both human and environmental health.
The Environmental Assessment Panel to Nuclear Waste Management and Disposal Concept indicates that the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Natural Resources had promised a full environmental study, including a public investigation by an independent panel. So far, nothing has been done.
Knowing that close to 50% of the initial mass of MOX will remain in the form of radioactive waste, and that plutonium has a life of 24,000 years, this is enough to have the public shaking in its boots.