2009 is a defining year for Canada’s nuclear industry.
The President of the Organization of CANDU Industries, Doctor Neil Alexander says the uncertainty surrounding the Ontario bid for new nuclear threatens the viability of a home-grown industry that could be the envy of the world.
Alexander says right now we have a five-billion-dollar a year industry that employs more than 30 thousand Canadians and there’s a prospect of more jobs being created down the road.
He says, though that all of that could be lost because of a deadlock between the provincial and federal government who cannot agree on how to move the industry forward.
As a result Ontario has suspended its process for new nuclear saying the costs are too high while waiting to hear about the future of AECL which the federal government is dealing with.
Alexander says each side is waiting for the other to move.
If the stalemate continues, the nuclear industry could end up with the same problems as the auto industry has encountered recently.
Alexander calls on the governments to put politics aside and focus on growing Canada’s nuclear industry so that it becomes a showpiece for the world and thus potential investors, to see.
He says Canada’s historic 10 per cent share of the international nuclear market translates into thousands of jobs for Canadians.