Natural Resources committee  The budget, as you know, is set annually, and it's a function of our work. Of our budget, 70% is cost-recovered from the licensees. So, for example, when Quebec decided to shut down the Gentilly-2, that had an impact on our budget. It changes from year to year, because right now

Natural Resources committee  No. The way the budget is set is on an annual basis as to what the work is that we anticipate for the year. We invoice. Part of it, 30%, is appropriation, and the rest is up to the actual licensee, depending on the work that's going to be done.

Natural Resources committee  In the case of a major accident, the commission would not decide who was to pay, but rather the minister or the courts. During day-to-day operations, the operator is responsible for any accident, even if there are service providers.

Natural Resources committee  The reactor must be safely operated, but there are sometimes conflicts between the operator and the supplier.

Natural Resources committee  That depends. If something very serious happened, we could compel a supplier to meet with us in public to explain the reasons why the incident took place. Regulations require that an error be made public and publicly debated.

Natural Resources committee  We will seek expertise whenever we can get it. But we also have some pretty impressive experts on staff who are expert in nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental assessment—you name it. They are expert, and when they lack a particular expertise

Natural Resources committee  The most noticeable thing that changed in Fukushima is something that our technical expert called “beyond design“ accidents. Those facilities were designed with some very conservative accidents in mind. They assumed events based on historical records of seismic events, tornadoes

Natural Resources committee  In North America as a whole the U.S. is now establishing, if memory serves me right, five central locations where there will be assets. I'm talking about diesel fuel, fuel, and all kinds of equipment and material that can be flown to any site required. In Canada, they've done a

Natural Resources committee  Our mandate is not to deal with economic issues and cost controls. All we want to assess is where, if you have an additional dollar to invest in increasing safety, you would put it. That's as close as we can get to a cost-effectiveness measurement to enhance safety. Our mandate

Natural Resources committee  Good morning, Mr. Chair and committee members. My name is Michael Binder and I am the President of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. It is a pleasure to accept your invitation to be here today. The CNSC is Canada’s nuclear regulator. Under the Nuclear Safety and Control A

Natural Resources committee  On the nuclear power generation, no, we have not received any. Right now there is a formal application. One, this is Kiggavik, a big AREVA mine with multiple sites in there. They are exploring quite a bit. I hate to give a number because exploration is held close to the chest. T

Natural Resources committee  I'll do that.

Natural Resources committee  They are trying to organize. It's a new creation. We know the people. If they are up and running, we intend to use them. They're going to have their feet on the ground, and we hope they can assist us. This is a vast territory. To get to all the communities and try to explain what

Natural Resources committee  I can't remember the exact number, but we are slowly bringing into the regulatory framework a number of old mines that were left abandoned. We're trying to bring them back as close to nature as possible. That's our intent. That's why we are so aggressive in demanding upfront mone

Natural Resources committee  The most popular one is the irrevocable line of credit, which we, and only the CNSC, can tap in case a company goes bankrupt. There are different mechanisms for doing this. Every five years, we re-assess it to make sure of the adequacy of the funds. I don't know if you're familia