Peter Julian on Questions Passed as Orders for Return

With regard to the Nuclear Liability Act and nuclear safety: (a) will the Department of Natural Resources Canada organize a public consultation with a variety of environmental and socio-economic stakeholders on the modernization of the Nuclear Liability Act before revisions are tabled in Parliament; (b) will the Department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) provide the policy objectives of the Nuclear Liability Act; (c) in considering revisions to the Nuclear Liability Act, what criteria is the government currently using to determine the liability of nuclear operators; (d) will NRCan release all comments provided by industry to its May 2013 consultation document on the Nuclear Liability Act; (e) how does NRCan define “the limitation, to a reasonable level and in a manner that is consistent with Canada’s international obligations, of the risks to national security, the health and safety of persons and the environment that are associated with the development, production and use of nuclear energy” as laid out in the objectives of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act; (f) has NRCan or any agency under its authority assessed the potential consequences of a major accidental radiation release at a Canadian nuclear facility; (g) will NRCan commission a study on the consequences of a large accidental radiation release at the Darlington nuclear station, the Pickering nuclear station, the Point Lepreau nuclear station, and the Bruce nuclear station to inform a public consultation on revising the Nuclear Liability Act and publicly release the results; (h) will NRCan provide the preliminary conclusions of the Atomic Energy Control Board’s (AECB) severe accident study; (i) will NRCan provide the AECB’s rationale for abandoning the severe accident study; (j) has NRCan reviewed the frequency and magnitude of reactor accidents based on the world-wide record as recommended by the Inter-departmental Work Group on the Nuclear Liability Act in 1984, and if so, will NRCan share the conclusions of this review; (k) has Environment Canada considered the impact of a proposed Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act or the current Nuclear Liability Act on Canada’s commitment to sustainability and the polluter-pays principle, and if so, will Environment Canada provide the results of the department’s analysis; (l) has NRCan considered the impact of the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act or the Nuclear Liability Act on Canada’s commitment to sustainability and the polluter-pays principle, and if so, will NRCan provide the results of the department’s analysis; (m) could NRCan provide the government policy objective that lead to the passage of the Nuclear Liability Act and describe how and when this policy was established; (n) could NRCan provide the government policy objective that informed the development of the proposed Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act and describe how and when this policy was established; (o) did NRCan reconsider Canada’s policy on nuclear liability protection following the Fukushima disaster; (p) under which conditions would NRCan accept an unlimited liability regime for the updated Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act in the event of a nuclear accident, and if none, why not; (q) has NRCan estimated the implicit subsidy per kilowatt that would be created by raising the liability limit to $650 million and $1 billion as opposed to an unlimited liability, and if so, will NRCan share the results; (r) does NRCan have a policy on assessing and reporting on the energy market distortions created by the implicit subsidy created by current and future caps on nuclear operator liability; (s) how often does NRCan verify the insurance capacity of the insurers in Canada; and (t) how does NRCan define the “reasonable” cost of insurance in determining the maximum level required of nuclear operators?