Statement by the Honourable Lisa Raitt, P.C., M.P., Minister of Natural Resources
AECL Review

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OTTAWA — Eighteen months ago, the Government of Canada launched a review of AECL as part of our commitment to good governance and responsible management of the Crown Corporation.

The Review was initiated as part of our Government’s due diligence and commitment to good governance and responsible management. Its purpose was to determine whether AECL’s current structure best equips the Corporation, its employees and ultimately the Canadian nuclear industry to participate fully in the expanding global nuclear market.

Over the course of the Review, many factors were examined, including the need to control costs; to maximize Canadian taxpayers’ return on their investment; and to optimize opportunities for the Canadian nuclear industry.

The Review engaged a wide range of stakeholders and involved external financial evaluation of the Corporation and market conditions; legal and policy analysis of restructuring; and careful study of the impacts of possible options on employees and industry. 

The review is now complete. Among its primary findings were that:

• AECL’s current mandate and structure hampers its success and development and does not maximize benefits for Canada.
• The two halves of the Corporation — the CANDU Reactor Division, and the Research and Technology Division — have distinct mandates and resource and management needs. 
• Increasingly, this reality places the execution of key projects under pressure, exposes the Government as shareholder to financial risk and potentially limits Canada’s participation in the global supply chain. 
• The CANDU Reactor Division is too small to establish a strong presence globally in the high-growth markets that are a key to its success.
• Lastly, the activities of the Research and Technology Division, while meeting essential public policy requirements, can be enhanced by sharpening focus and driving innovative management.

Building on AECL’s strengths and expertise, we are now moving forward with restructuring the Corporation.

Today, we are releasing a Report by my Department, summarizing the Review. Based on this Review, our Government is acting to strengthen Canada’s nuclear industry and to enhance the culture of growth; the culture of innovation; and the culture of leadership. Global demand for this clean, efficient source of energy is rapidly expanding, and Canada is a world leader in nuclear technology.

But we are facing stiff competition. The overall objective of this restructuring is to strengthen the capacity of Canada’s nuclear industry to compete for and deliver domestic and international nuclear projects. This will better position the Corporation, its employees and the Canadian nuclear industry to retain and create skilled jobs in designing, building and servicing new power plants in Canada and abroad.

To this end, our Government has hired N.M Rothschild and Sons to develop a restructuring plan and to provide external financial advice as required. I have also engaged David Leith, formerly of CIBC World Markets, as Advisor to assist me with this project and to work with Natural Resources Canada, AECL and the financial advisors.

As you can see, we have been preparing for this for quite some time. I have briefed the Chair of the Board of AECL on our plans. I am engaging with representatives from the nuclear industry, the three levels of government, with Members of Parliament, employees and unions.

Canadians recognize AECL’s contributions to nuclear science and technology. Its employees, engineers and scientists are world-class. Our Government is acting now to ensure that these world-class employees have every opportunity to actively participate in high-value projects both domestically and internationally.

I want to emphasize that our Government places top priority on health, safety and the environment in relation to all nuclear activities in Canada. This decision will in no way affect the role of Canada’s nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which will continue to oversee the entire nuclear industry in this country.

Isotopes

As we proceed with this restructuring, our Government’s attention will continue to be focused on issues related to medical isotope supply in Canada. The decision to undergo this restructuring has been in planning for several months and is in no way related to the current shutdown of the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor at Chalk River.

This shutdown, together with other recent outages of major medical isotope supply reactors, underscores significant vulnerabilities in the security of global supply.
We have taken important steps in the last 18 months:

• We have created the Protocol for Notification and Information Sharing Concerning Shortages of Medical Isotopes;
• Health Canada is working with the Ad Hoc Group of Experts and with provinces and territories on a contingency plan to manage planned or unplanned shortages;
• At Canada’s request, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) hosted an international workshop on isotopes in January; and
• In response to a proposal from Canada, the Nuclear Energy Steering Committee of the NEA agreed to establish a high-level international task force to carry the agenda forward.

While there are no short-term or easy solutions to this situation, which requires a concerted international approach, what we can do — and will continue to do — is work with our partners and do whatever we can to help Canadian patients and health care providers during this challenging time.
In parallel, as part of the Government of Canada’s five-point plan announced last year, my Department is reviewing a number of proposals and concepts put forward by the private and public sectors for isotope production. It is clear that a thorough criteria-based analysis is necessary to guide the government and private sector participants towards long-term solutions.  

Today, I am pleased to announce that our Government is establishing an Expert Panel to examine proposals put forward, which will report to me in the fall. The panel will include representatives from the health sciences, technology and public policy sectors. We will announce the names chosen when a decision is made.

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Media may contact:

Jasmine MacDonnell
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Lisa Raitt
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa
613-996-2007

Or

Media Relations
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa
613-992-4447

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