Environment committee  Right. The interventions are due by the middle of April, so yes, the commission, starts its two-part hearing at the end of May. That is when we are going to be listening to the interventions and then make a decision only after we've heard all of those different perspectives. Absolutely no decision has been made.

Environment committee  Ms. Collins, I think you have a copy of the commission's decision on that request that we had for an adjournment. As you would have read in that decision, or in that letter from the registrar, it is part of the commission's proceedings to see the level of engagement that has happened and whether it has been adequate to meet the honour of the Crown, so that is part of the hearing.

Environment committee  Thank you, Madame Pauzé. Let me just make sure I have understood your questions correctly. Maybe I'll start with the last one. It was about cobalt 60 imports and how to ensure safety on that. You mentioned Douglas Point, I believe, and also something about SMRs, but I'm not quite sure what the question was on that.

Environment committee  Let me start with that last one on the impact assessment and which projects fall under an impact assessment or if they don't meet the threshold. I'll then review it by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission under our nuclear safety—

Environment committee  The question about why SMRs don't undergo an impact assessment is that there's been a threshold that's been established based on the risk level. Perhaps it's a question better asked of the Impact Assessment Agency. It's not the CNSC being militant about it; this is part of the Impact Assessment Act and the project that's in there.

Environment committee  —or by the CNSC, there is a level—

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Longfield. I'll start answering that question and then I'll ask Mr. Jammal to add some more details to this. As part of the convention we have signed, we do need to report every three years to this international body of peers on our used fuel and radioactive waste management.

Environment committee  Let me give you the regulator's perspective. The system works. You just need to look at the track record. There has not been an incident, certainly in the last 20 years since the Nuclear Safety and Control Act came into place—and it could be even longer than that—where waste management has impacted safety or the environment.

Environment committee  Finding a site for a long-term fuel depository is not something that's in the CNSC's mandate. That is the mandate of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. The CNSC's mandate is to do the licencing of that particular facility, and the NWMO did appear before this committee a few weeks ago, and we are expecting them to start their impact assessment.

Environment committee  None whatsoever. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, the decisions made by the commission, which is a quasi-judicial tribunal, can be reviewed only by the Federal Court, so there is no intervention, no influence by the minister in our decisions. If you like, I can elaborate further on how that relationship is with NRCan and other departments and what the impact of that reporting is.

Environment committee  As you rightly said, we report to Parliament. That is per our enabling legislation, the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. The minister, as I said, has no role in our decision-making or in our day-to-day operations. The CNSC has horizontal relationships with many departments—including the two witnesses following us—such as Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Impact Assessment Agency, Health Canada, Transport Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as well as our provincial agencies in environment and labour.

Environment committee  Chair and members of the committee, my name is Rumina Velshi and I'm joining you from Toronto in the traditional territory of many nations and now home to many diverse first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Beside being the president and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, or CNSC, Canada's independent nuclear safety regulator, I'm also currently the chair of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, commission on safety standards, which establishes standards for the global nuclear community, including for radioactive waste.

Natural Resources committee  When it comes to any licensing decision, it's the commission, which is an independent tribunal.

Natural Resources committee  In our proceedings, they are not really decision-makers. They inform the commission, and they'll provide their perspective.

Natural Resources committee  It would be safety and risk as they then manifest, whether with their food or waste management. The issues are safety and risk associated with nuclear....