Natural Resources committee  I'll start, and then I'll let Pierre finish. For us to have the correct service providers in the industry, these service providers need to be protected from the liabilities associated with the extreme possibility that a nuclear incident could occur. To do this, we need to have the bill passed.

Natural Resources committee  That's exactly right. That's what the experience is with the current refurbishments that are going on in Canada and the potential refurbishments that OPG intends to carry on at all facilities.

Natural Resources committee  There are two parts to that question. First of all, to operate a nuclear reactor in Ontario, or in Canada, you have to meet the regulations of the CNSC. One of those regulations is that we comply with this act. If it's impossible to comply with the act because of the unlimited liability set and the inability of the utilities and the insurance companies to deal with an unlimited liability, then you would have a situation where we could not operate legally in Canada.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you. I would. I'd like to address specifically the comments that were made associated with the magnitude of an incident. And I'd like to actually quote from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which as you know is the nuclear regulator in Canada. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, in its reasons for a decision, responded as follows to an intervenor who raised concerns on the insufficiency of Canada's nuclear liability regime at the Pickering B environmental assessment hearing, which was held on January 23, 2009.

Natural Resources committee  I don't know if I can answer the question, but I'll try to address the issue. The problem is that the capacities of the utilities and operators and insurance companies are not unlimited. Therefore, at some level, all countries provide backstops for third-party liability in some way.

Natural Resources committee  As Mr. Loesby said, we've had discussions with the ministry and we feel quite comfortable that we would be able to address our concerns through the regulatory process. One of the issues is that we would like to be consulted if the minister decides to change the liabilities in the act.

Natural Resources committee  Good afternoon, everybody. I'm here on behalf of Ontario Power Generation, and I'm joined by my colleague, Pierre Tremblay, who is the senior vice-president of programs and training at OPG. We are here today to support the early adoption and timely passage of Bill C-20. Thank you for inviting us to speak.