The Conservative government says joining an international nuclear club is "great news" despite fierce criticism from environmentalists and political opponents demanding the decision be opened to discussion.
"It is great news for Canada to be part of this partnership," Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn told the House of Commons on Friday.
Late Thursday, Conservatives announced membership in the U.S.-led Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, a 12-country nuclear power-sharing group.
The GNEP is an expensive initiative to create new nuclear reactors that reuse nuclear waste in order to prevent the spread of bomb-making material.
As part of this club, members agree to store any waste from nuclear fuel they sell to other members. Canada -- the biggest exporter of uranium -- would be responsible for repatriating the waste from its exports.
Liberal natural resources critic Omar Alghabra demanded Friday that the government open the issue up to a full discussion.
"Canada is already struggling to decide how to safely handle our own nuclear waste, and this Conservative government may have signed us up to become the world's largest nuclear waste dump," said Alghabra.
Lunn, however, said Canada made arrangements when they joined that meant they would not have to store the waste of others.
"We have absolutely, explicitly stated that under no uncertain circumstances will Canada ever be taking back spent nuclear fuel at any time from any country," Lunn said.
Australia has also joined GNEP with the understanding that it would not be responsible for waste from exports.
Thursday's announcement came after months of stonewalling and denials from federal ministers.
NDP Leader Jack Layton said Friday that nuclear energy is prohibitively expensive and won't stop climate change, and demanded a debate into the issue.
Elizabeth May, the federal Green Party leader, said she was furious that the decision to join a pro-nuclear group occurred in silence without any public consultation.
On Thursday, Lunn also announced a review of the relationship between the government and Atomic Energy Canada Limited, the Crown corporation that builds and sells nuclear reactors around the world.
Lunn said the government is prepared to consider privatizing all or part of the crown corporation -- or it may decide to leave it alone.
Insiders tell 麻豆影视 that the preferred option is a partial sell-off of AECL, a move which would bring some private sector capital into the organization to share some of the risk and partly reduce some of the liabilities now assumed by the federal taxpayer.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has said the prime minister should appoint a blue-ribbon panel to give advice on the future of AECL.
With files from CTV's David Akin
