Natural Resources committee  That's beyond my knowledge.

Natural Resources committee  To my knowledge, there has been no specific direction along those lines.

Natural Resources committee  AECL believes the most effective and fastest route towards resuming the isotope supply in Canada or from Canada is by the repair and return to service of the NRU. We have essentially completed a non-destructive examination. We understand the scope of repair. We still need to gather more information to support the repair, the actual application of the repair, and then we need to follow through and complete it.

Natural Resources committee  Our plan is to carry out a quality repair and to carry out a repair that will allow the NRU to operate reliably past the next licence interval. That would be the interval between 2011 and 2016. The intent in this repair is to provide a quality and lasting repair that will allow the NRU to operate reliably beyond 2016.

Natural Resources committee  Our job is to repair and return the NRU to service and to maintain reliable operation through the next licence interval, from 2011 to 2016. I would really defer to the advice of the expert panel to the government on what the long-term isotope supply strategy should be for Canada.

Natural Resources committee  In terms of restructuring, the restructuring is being carried out by our shareholder, by Natural Resources Canada, by the government. We are providing input to that. However, we are not the decision-makers, and certainly I am not the decision-maker. I have great pride in the operation of the Chalk River site and the facilities, and I'm confident that, under whatever structure is chosen, that facility will continue to provide its mission in supplying isotopes.

Natural Resources committee  As I said before, this is in the hands of the shareholder. We are the company and the operator, and I defer to the shareholder. That's where you should be directing those questions.

Natural Resources committee  I'm afraid that it was before my time, yes.

Natural Resources committee  I'm afraid I do not have the AECL history on the development of the various stages of the MAPLEs.

Natural Resources committee  My job, as chief nuclear officer for AECL, is the operation of the Chalk River site and research and technology operations, in fact, which is somewhat broader. But my focus is on the repair and return to service of the NRU. I personally am not keeping abreast of broader developments in the industry.

Natural Resources committee  I certainly couldn't put a number on that. The NRU reactor really is there for a number of missions. It provides materials research and research and development of things like fuel. So it's a multi-purpose research reactor. I don't have with me figures that would split off the cost of producing isotopes.

Natural Resources committee  I do not have with me any representative number, but I would offer to provide something to the committee, if that's the wish of the committee.

Natural Resources committee  Again, I did not bring with me the expenditures to date on this outage. However, we have done an estimate on the total repair of the NRU. That cost would be in the order of $70 million, and that includes an amount for contingency, and that includes a netted amount for lost revenue from isotopes.

Natural Resources committee  We made presentations to the CNSC in June and in August. I believe this was presented in August.

Natural Resources committee  That is what we're doing; however, we have not achieved all of those goals at this time.