Natural Resources committee  Bill C-20 is about updating our nuclear liability regime in Canada. Currently, operators of nuclear facilities have a maximum liability, in the event of a disruption or an accident of any kind, of up to $75 million. That is outside of the realm of the global standard. The limit will be raised to $650 million, which is also roughly equivalent to the amount that may reasonably be purchased in the market by way of insurance.

Natural Resources committee  Not at all, sir. I would suggest that if the firm that is hired purported to provide definitive recommendations in any kind of way, it would have a very wrong understanding of its role. The role of the firm will be to support the panel, to provide it the best possible cross-sectoral analysis of the information provided in the submissions and to bring added professional capacity to the panel so that they may look at the 22 submissions in a concerted and analytically robust fashion, bringing forth their own very significant expertise.

Natural Resources committee  I heard the answer provided to you by AECL. I'm not sure I could confirm that. It is my understanding, Mr. Chair, but I'm not sure I could confirm it with zero element of doubt. I'm certainly prepared to go back and look at the history. I don't know, Tom, whether you could respond.

Natural Resources committee  That's correct, if that is inclusive of the amounts being appropriated through Natural Resources Canada for the long-term waste program.

Natural Resources committee  There has been.

Natural Resources committee  I can't do the math quite that fast, but the numbers look to be in the ballpark. I could certainly provide the committee with the full historicals, if that would be helpful, Mr. Chair.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, we have the full historical tracking of the--

Natural Resources committee  Clearly, the short and long answer is no. If one looks, for example, at a situation in the power sector in Ontario right now, there is a private sector firm called Bruce Power that operates nuclear reactors in Ontario, under the regulation of the CNSC. It does so with the same safety standards as OPG, and Hydro-Québec and NB Power.

Natural Resources committee  I'll be brief in my remark because I may not have fully captured your question. I think that what was announced on May 28 by the Minister of Natural Resources with regard to restructuring of Atomic Energy of Canada was about the structure, the ownership structure that will best utilize and mobilize the talent that is here in Canada, the expertise, so that we may play as we may play in the global marketplace, and there is a sense that the current structure is not the one that optimizes that outcome.

Natural Resources committee  The individuals better qualified to answer those questions would be, obviously, in the medical community. What I can tell you, on the basis on the information provided to us by Health Canada, is that they basically estimate that a significant portion of procedures can be replaced by other substances such as thallium and fluoride, as we heard from Dr.

Natural Resources committee  I would have them, and I would be happy to provide the committee with a full chapter and verse on the funding that has been provided to Atomic Energy of Canada, including to Chalk River Laboratories, in the past. Those amounts, at the level of the Government of Canada, were not disaggregated to the level of maintenance for the NRU.

Natural Resources committee  I'm sure they would be, from Atomic Energy of Canada.

Natural Resources committee  Right, I suspect they would be, but the reporting structure would be about running the Chalk River Laboratories, which is a broader operation than simply the NRU. There are all kinds of other facilities there, and the government would, on an annual basis, have provided an appropriation--and has provided an appropriation--to Atomic Energy of Canada to run Chalk River Laboratories, and in various cases it has also received supplementary moneys to provide for the update and the upkeep of the facilities.

Natural Resources committee  We, as the Government of Canada, can make available the numbers for Chalk River. But the further disaggregation would have to come forward from AECL.

Natural Resources committee  Mr. Chair, that would be the principal responsibility of Health Canada. Health Canada has been conducting the interface here with the provincial ministries of health, with the health community. We at NRCan have been focused on the supply side of the equation. We obviously talk to Health Canada and we have those kinds of discussions, and we appreciate that the fragile situation globally is entailing higher costs, but you would need to address the question to Health Canada in terms of jurisdiction by jurisdiction, or actual higher costs.