Mr. Chair, we can see from what is happening that measures have never been put in place to avoid such events. This is very surprising, and it is alarming. Earlier, the president told us that Canada was a world leader and a model for the rest of the world. But it is as though they are working in a vacuum, without a safety valve.
Why was the licence for this 50-year-old reactor renewed? I know you asked Atomic Energy of Canada Limited to make certain upgrades, but it did not respond. It did not comply with the regulations and violated the law.
I would like the president to respond. Why were certain measures not put in place? Especially since the reactor has been in use for 50 years. Why was there no deadline for a response? You realized there was a problem after the fact, because you conducted an inspection. Now, we parliamentarians have been presented with a fait accompli. We have a bill before us that will go even further than the current act and further than the regulations. It is rather limiting for us not to have everything we need to feel confident to go ahead and adopt this bill, which will relieve you of all authority.
Why are there no measures in place? In future, what sort of measures should be taken so that people do not have to be called to appear like this on an emergency basis because we are faced with a very alarming situation?