Natural Resources committee  Perhaps I'll let Mr. Pilkington respond. He has direct responsibility for the day-to-day conduct of the project.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to introduce Mr. Bill Pilkington, the Chief Nuclear Officer for AECL.

Natural Resources committee  That's quite all right, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Allow me to introduce to you Mr. Bill Pilkington, Chief Nuclear Officer with AECL. Let me begin by expressing my own concern about and acknowledgement of the impact of the ongoing strain on the supply of medical isoto

Natural Resources committee  I operate within a field of play that is defined by very specific boundaries, and those boundaries are the policy direction of the Government of Canada. They are the regulatory framework we operate within, the funding that is made available to me, and very importantly, the contra

Natural Resources committee  I would say, first and foremost, our primary obligation is to produce isotopes in the facilities we have at our disposal, and that's what we set about to do. It is not really our place to be out stimulating other production in the context of our commercial arrangements with MDS N

Natural Resources committee  I'll certainly say from a policy level it's absolutely a possibility, and we would be more than willing. I would have to say we would balance that against the obligations we have to return our own reactor to service as quickly as possible. So I think we'd have to put the first pr

Natural Resources committee  The many government officials involved in this matter have certainly been in touch with us and they are aware we're ready to help if we can.

Natural Resources committee  As usual in our business, it's a complicated answer, but I'll make it as short as I can. We have had discussions with McMaster officials. There are some logistical issues that aren't really related to the reactor as much as transporting various materials around the GTA to get t

Natural Resources committee  I believe that all along there had been consideration of many different scenarios and many different options. Clearly, making the decision geared up the process to return the NRU to a longer-term isotope production facility.

Natural Resources committee  I'll have Mr. Pilkington respond to that.

Natural Resources committee  “Unsolvable” is an absolute term. Certainly the reactor had technical problems that had defied solution up to that point. When we looked at the possibilities, all of them were highly risky, expensive, and lengthy. It was clear to us that it was not just the existence of a positiv

Natural Resources committee  In a strong safety culture, you need to know what is happening at the very guts of the device before you put it into service. We could not develop the requisite confidence level.

Natural Resources committee  2008.

Natural Resources committee  Supply to Canadians?

Natural Resources committee  Really it's not our purview, because we distribute into a commercial supply chain through MDS Nordion, and our visibility really ends when we supply to them.