Christian Paradis

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, it is unfortunate that my colleague does not have his fan club with him.

That being said, as I stated earlier, the National Energy Board has engaged in a review of the entire process. This is exactly what it is doing to better understand what happened in the Gulf of Mexico and how we can improve our regulations.

Let me be clear that Minerals Management Service in the United States will be reformed to make sure it is an independent body, which is already the case here with the NEB. The United States is headed toward the stage we are at right now.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, we are pleased with the success of the ecoenergy home retrofit program. Some 500,000 Canadian homes will consume less and have better energy efficiency. The average savings is 22% per home. Imagine how many fewer tonnes of greenhouse gases will be emitted and how much energy will be saved. In our Speech from the Throne, we promised to review how the programs were doing in order to keep investing in clean energy in the years to come.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, as I was explaining earlier, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization has started its site selection process to find a community with an appropriate location that would agree to having a deep geologic repository for the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste in Canada.

A process will be established through this organization on a voluntary basis. The municipalities that agree to this will work with the organization. It is the organization's responsibility.

My colleague should be asking the Nuclear Waste Management Organization these questions.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, the Government of Canada supports the safe and responsible use of nuclear energy. It is committed to ensuring that an appropriate solution will be in place for the long-term management of nuclear waste. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization was created by Canadian nuclear reactor owners. It was decided that we needed to develop and implement a plan for the long-term management of nuclear fuel in Canada.

Our government supports the efforts of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization to involve Canadians as it develops a safe and secure plan for the long-term management of nuclear waste and fuel. The creation of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization is an important step in the development of a long-term solution. The projects my colleague mentioned are always carried out on a voluntary basis.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, I am aware of the project mentioned by my colleague and other projects here in Canada. What is important is having a viable solution for the future. I trust that the people of Sherbrooke, as well as others working on different projects, will bring forward their solutions and show how they could be useful in the future.

Before my colleague asks me to back a specific project, I would ask her to support our budget so that the $35 million can be made available to move forward with projects such as the one she mentioned as well as other promising projects in Canada.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, the case referred to by the member is currently before the courts. We have a case based on contracts we signed. Given that this case is before the courts, I will make no further comments. I will let the courts decide this matter.

However, I would like to repeat that the main priority of the Canadian government and AECL is to get the NRU reactor back on line as quickly as possible to ensure the short-term supply of isotopes. Furthermore, we have a vision, we have a plan. My colleague should be pleased because we have not seen this for a long time. We are looking for alternative resources, which means a $35 million investment in research on linear accelerators and cyclotrons, which do not produce waste and are much less expensive. They show great promise for the future.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, there is a global crisis that requires a global solution. The world supply comes from five old reactors. That is why we want to get our reactor working again as quickly as possible. That is AECL’s priority, and it is the priority of this government.

In the meantime, a high-level group has been constituted under Canadian leadership. It consists of researchers and scientists and will coordinate activities on a global level, which was not done before. Companies such as Covidien and Lantheus Medical Imaging were not in the habit of talking to each other. Now they want to collaborate more, and that is being done on the provincial level as well. My colleague the Minister of Health sat down with medical people and the relevant provincial representatives to ensure everyone was working together. That is what we need to do. That is also why we need to make targeted strategic investments and find alternate solutions in the future.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, I was talking about the restructuring of CANDU Inc. I said that some strategic investments were being considered. There are several options. The Chalk River laboratory is a second part to be considered later, but currently we are dealing with CANDU Inc. Our immediate priority is to get the NRU reactor working again as quickly as possible to ensure our supply of isotopes. That is AECL’s priority, and it is the priority of this government.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, there can be no doubt that the outcome of the restructuring process will benefit Canada in all of the ways I just mentioned.

With respect to isotope supply, we are not talking about the research sector or about the Chalk River labs. I made it clear that the CANDU division, the commercial division, is the one up for restructuring.

Our plan and our top priority in terms of isotopes is to bring the reactor on line as quickly as possible. That is what we have always told AECL, which is making this a priority. I am personally monitoring this file week by week. That is why we are making strategic medium- and long-term investments. We want to find alternative sources, such as technetium-99m produced by linear accelerators or cyclotrons. This is a great solution that costs less and does not produce waste.

I encourage my colleague to support our budget because it may even have an impact on Quebec. We are leaders in this field.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, this restructuring is unavoidable. We are seeking strategic investments to achieve the purposes I mentioned. Of course, conditions and intellectual property are issues we are taking into account. This is a Canadian asset, but there are also collective agreements in place. We expect the entity that emerges following the restructuring to comply with the obligations in those agreements.

Naturally, we cannot disclose the names of the companies themselves right now because of the sensitive and commercial nature of the restructuring process.