OTTAWA –
Today, Senator Pierrette Ringuette once again raised concerns over the
government’s sale of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL).
Recently,
Federal Resources Minister Christian Paradis has stated his desire to sell AECL
“sooner rather than later” and that “everything is on the table” despite
previous assurances that the intention was only to sell the reactor
construction division of AECL.
In light of
recent events, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette has recently
tabled a bill, S-225, that proposes to sell only 30% of AECL with the Canadian
people maintaining the controlling interest in the profitable company. This
will allow for an injection of private capital which will help AECL compete in
the growing worldwide nuclear industry.
Senator
Ringuette has released the following statement:
“I have previously raised my issues with the
sale during the unprecedented budget omnibus bill C-9 and none of my concerns
have been dissuaded. The attitude of this government towards a Canadian
institution such as AECL is appalling. They are only concerned with a few
short-term gains that will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, hurt
the economy, threaten the stability of Canada’s power generating and
medical isotope producing capabilities, and lose Canadian developed
technology forever.
The
government does not consider the serious implication of this sale. Instead they
are just trying to off-load it quickly on purely ideological grounds and to
superficially make their deficit look better.
The survival
of AECL is crucial to Canadians; whether for its medical isotope production for
millions of Canadians, or its nuclear energy production which supplies half of
Ontario’s electricity.
The Harper
Government has no energy strategy and the sale of ACL is a clear
indication that they do not know how to secure the energy needs of Canadians.
This is why
I urge all Parliamentarians to support Senator Hervieux-Payette’s
proposal to help grow Canada’s nuclear industry while keeping its future in the
hands of the Canadian people”