Minister glows about nuclear

Canadian Nuclear Association Annual Conference Report 1 

Even people who don’t watch The Simpsons might be aware that Homer works at the local nuclear power plant. But how many know the program’s theme music? Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt said she was hoping her staff would sing it for her as she stepped up to the podium at the latest Canadian Nuclear Association conference. But, they disappointed.

Raitt acknowledged that “no economy . . . can grow without a safe, reliable supply of energy and that we need as much of that energy as possible to be clean energy.” Moreover, “nuclear energy will play an increasingly important role in striking a balance between our need for energy and our need to protect our environment.”

She cited the government’s stated and admittedly “aggressive” goal of generating at least 90 per cent of Canada’s electricity from non-emitting sources by 2020 and said some jurisdictions are already moving or at least considering a move to nuclear power: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and, for the first time, Western Canada.

The industry also was “well positioned to capture some” of the work on the unprecedented number of new reactors planned or under construction around the world.

“As a Canadian, a scientist (MSc from the University of Guelph) and as the Minister of Natural Resources, I have to say that I’m incredibly proud of this country’s nuclear industry. We’ve been a pioneering innovator in the development of nuclear technology and we’ve distinguished ourselves by harnessing this technology and ensuring that it’s operated safely and reliably at home and in other parts of the world. All Canadians will benefit from the success of this industry.”