Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, one benefit of operating in a country like Canada is that we have well-known regulatory systems governed by the rule of law. People understand the rules and the processes that need to be engaged for projects to get off the ground and come to fruition. That's not to say it is an easy regulatory process, but it is certainly stable, and one that I believe most companies can operate within.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We haven't tried to open a project under the new regulatory system, but we certainly believe it operates as it should. We think there is a path there. Again, there are always bumps along the road, and some of those bumps might be quite high, but yes, we think there is a well-known and well-understood regulatory process in Canada.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In our industry, the uranium mining industry, we do not see, at this time, any opportunity for uranium mining in Quebec. It's my understanding that the Government of Quebec has a moratorium on uranium mining at this time. In order for us to consider new mining operations in the province of Quebec, the Government of Quebec would have to change its position.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you very much. Yes, that is true. We have been looking very carefully at whether or not we can access the emergency wage subsidy program, and it looks like in some months we qualify and in others we don't. We're waiting for clarification from the Canada Revenue Agency on exactly what the eligibility requirements look like.

Natural Resources committee  Certainly. The first thing I would say is that we've been at this a long time. The relationship we have with our partner communities was not developed overnight. We had some missteps early on. We recognized those missteps. What we have now is a relationship that, frankly, is built on trust.

Natural Resources committee  Certainly that is one of the areas where we would like to see support from the government. These areas are in many respects not unique to the nuclear sector. Certainly for Cameco, investment in education, from primary education through to post-secondary, in northern communities would be a significant help to us.

Natural Resources committee  I'm going to let my colleagues handle that, because they are more engaged in the R and D side of nuclear technology.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you for the question. Yes, we do. We have young people from our communities training in post-secondary education across the country. One of the challenges we face is that currently those people need to leave their home communities in order to study post-secondary education.

Natural Resources committee  I can try, although it's a little beyond my expertise. As you know, when we capture nuclear fuel in CANDU reactors, uranium in this case, we use a limited amount of the energy in that uranium. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of 10% to 15% of the energy is all we use. There is currently work under way at SNC-Lavalin and other companies on advanced reactor design that can take the currently spent reactor fuel and run it again through new types of reactors so that the spent reactor fuel existing today can be recaptured, recycled, and reused through new reactor types.

Natural Resources committee  That's an interesting question. I won't comment on the redistribution of funding from one program to another, but I think you've heard across the panel today of the desire and the need for further investment in nuclear innovation across the board. Where that money comes from I will leave in your capable hands to decide, but it's apparent that if there isn't further investment in nuclear innovation, R and D, and technology development, the competitive advantage that Canada currently has all across the nuclear value chain is not going to be there in the years to come.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is my pleasure to be here today, to appear before the committee on behalf of Cameco once again, as your study examines the important role of the Canadian nuclear sector and the role it plays in our economy through trade, manufacturing and processing, and high-quality employment; addressing climate change and the transition to cleaner energy; and the advancement of nuclear science and technology, innovation, and research and development.

Natural Resources committee  There are a couple of things in answer to that. We believe a carbon tax is the most efficient way, provided that you are looking at it in concert with other regulatory impacts. A carbon tax with other regulatory impacts may have some inefficiencies. Yes, we believe that a carbon tax is the most efficient way.

Natural Resources committee  The most effective way for our company would be for the government to be in a position to approve projects where they have the support of local communities and the business makes sense. From our point of view, as I said, the mining sector in Canada is a very strong sector. We do have projects that we are interested in within Canada, and we are looking for ways to have those projects approved.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you for the question. It would certainly have an impact. It would drive up some of our costs. One of the things about the uranium mining industry in northern Saskatchewan is that we are a very low carbon emitter. A recent study from the University of Saskatchewan, which I think was released a couple of weeks ago, demonstrates that our emissions are very low.

Natural Resources committee  It's about 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon annually. Let me just refer to my notes.