Natural Resources committee  You have a minute.

Natural Resources committee  I think our best advice is highlighted in the recommendations. John mentioned the concept of professional judgment. The culture of relying on professional judgment is.... Obviously we do have to rely on professional judgment. At the same time, we also have to have things clear so that it can transfer from one generation to the next, from one inspector to the next.

Natural Resources committee  We found on their website that they have an action plan. I was reviewing it prior to coming here. They indicate they have completed, I think, four out of the five recommendations. They still have one. They have given themselves a deadline. I can't give you any assurance. I'm an auditor, a verifier.

Natural Resources committee  No. That's actually your job.

Natural Resources committee  My job is to present to Parliament the findings, and your job is to hold the entity accountable. I'll go in perhaps and do a follow-up audit, but the list of potential audits I can do, the list of potential industries that might be of interest to you that you think maybe we should be looking at from a sustainable development perspective, is so big that in my seven years I don't think I'll go back into the nuclear industry on this one.

Natural Resources committee  I'm sorry for being so blunt.

Natural Resources committee  I'm going to pass that to John. He was the lead auditor and saw this stuff.

Natural Resources committee  I'll answer first that this was not an audit of the safety of the plants. This was an audit of whether or not the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission followed its own rules. It's very clear. It's clear to us as well that it's likely the industry is ahead of the regulator. I tend to agree with Mr.

Natural Resources committee  You have nearly 30 years of experience.

Natural Resources committee  I have been the environment and sustainable development commissioner for two and a half years. After I finish my reply, I will give the floor to Mr. John Affleck since he has worked with these organizations much more than I have. No one likes to be audited by the auditor general or the commissioner.

Natural Resources committee  I'm ready to go.

Natural Resources committee  My name is Julie Gelfand. I'm the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. My office is located in the Office of the Auditor General. Mr. Chair, thank you for this opportunity to participate in the discussions as part of your study of the nuclear sector. This panel is timely in light of my recent audit report on the inspection of nuclear power plants, which was tabled in Parliament as part of my 2016 fall reports.

Natural Resources committee  As you know, nuclear power generation in Canada, produced through the country's four operating nuclear power plants, is an important source of electricity for Canadians. However, unfortunate events such as Chernobyl and Fukushima are constant reminders that this industry is not without risks and needs to be well managed.

Environment committee  I would like to make one last comment just to let you know that in the past—and I don't know how long ago—we used to have one hearing per chapter. So for Mr. Fast, who is saying we don't have enough time, that is how it happened in the past: one chapter, one department, and then one after another—not for this time, but next time.

Environment committee  I am suggesting that you might want to think about how the public accounts committee deals with the Auditor General reports and deal with ours in the same way. At public accounts, the Auditor General reports to the public accounts committee and the departments must provide an action plan.