The new head of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited will be spending the day in Toronto trying to convince the provincial government to shop locally and purchase Ontario-built Candu nuclear reactors.
Hugh MacDiarmid, the new president and CEO of AECL appeared on CTV's Canada AM on Monday with Patrick Lamarre, president of Montreal's SNC-Lavalin Nuclear, which has long been a partner in the Candu product.
The pair are out to sell Ontarians on the Canadian reactor -- something they both say is at the forefront of the global nuclear industry, with reactors installed in Korea, China, Romania and Argentina.
"As well as of course the fleet here in Canada. That's why were here, that's why we're spending the day today trying to ensure Canadians understand and Ontarians understand Candu is a good choice," MacDiarmid said, during his first television interview since taking the job.
Lamarre said the goal is to convince Ontario -- which is currently shopping for a new reactor -- to shop locally and purchase a product that has a strong track record among high performance reactors.
They will hold a news conference Monday to talk about how Canada's economy will be impacted, depending on what the province decides to do.
MacDiarmid took the reigns of the AECL at a turbulent time for the organization.
Linda Keen, the former head of the Nuclear Safety Commission, forced the shutdown of AECL's Chalk River facility over safety concerns about the plant's emergency cooling system -- leading to a shortage of medical isotopes. But the federal government passed a bill reopening the plant and leading to Keen's dismissal in January.
He said the public turmoil didn't deter him from taking the job.
"Not many of us have a chance to do something important in our lives and when the opportunity arose -- I felt AECL was a fine organization with tremendous depth, global reach, an iconic brand with the Candu and I thought, what a chance to make a contribution," MacDiarmid said.
There are rumours that the federal government is considering privatizing the AECL, but MacDiarmid said that's none of his business.
"That's for the government to decide. I was brought in to do the best job I could to make AECL as successful as it could be irrespective of who our shareholder is or what the structure is," he said.
The AECL and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) are performing a joint review of what took place during the Chalk River fiasco, and looking at ways that a similar situation could be avoided in the future.
In the meantime though, "It is absolutely business as usual," MacDiarmid said.
"They announced publicly the review is underway and we're participating fully but at the same time I've got to get the job done and part of that is selling reactors."
The Chalk River facility is safer than ever, he said, now that new cooling pumps and a power supply have been installed and connected at the plant.
The Candu product has experienced somewhat of a dry spell in terms of international sales recently, and the AECL is eager to re-establish its position as a strong performer among Crown corporations.
Last month, Industry Minister Gary Lunn outlined three possible scenarios for the organization.
- Status quo, with the AECL remaining as a Crown corporation and continuing to receive federal funding.
- Outright sale of the AECL to private interests.
- Public-private partnership, which is considered the most likely option.
An ongoing bone of contention beween the federal government and the AECL has been the regulator's policy of only reviewing Candu designs if they were backed by sales contracts.
With Keen's dismissal, the CNSC reversed that policy, allowing the AECL to go ahead with the review that is currently underway.
