Publication Laka-library:
Nuclear Sunset. The Economic Costs of the Canadian Nuclear Industry (1996)
| Author | D.Martin, D.Argue |
| Date | February 1996 |
| Classification | 3.02.0.00/18 (CANADA - GENERAL) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
Nuclear Sunset 1. Introduction Despite its failure to become financially self-supporting, the Canadian nuclear industry promotes itself by stressing its supposed contributions to the Canadian economy. The most recent public relations exercise of this nature was sponsored by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) and conducted by the consulting firm of Ernst & Young. The resulting report, entitled The Economic Effects of the Canadian Nuclear Industry, released in October 1993, has been uncritically accepted by many federal decision-makers. The present report, called Nuclear Sunset: The Economic Costs of the Canadian Nuclear Industry is a response to the Ernst & Young report, in the area of "economic benefits" and AECL subsidies (section 2), and also in the area of direct employment (section 3). Nuclear Sunset also identifies three other topical areas of concern, where AECL continues to drain the public purse and put the taxpayer in even greater risk of future liability. These areas are AECL 's Isotope Business (section 4); AECL 's Decommissioning Liability (section 5); and Federal Heavy Water Investments (section 6). From its roots in World War II as part of the secret allied effort to build the world's first atomic bombs, the Canadian nuclear industry has been primarily a product of government intervention. The Canadian nuclear effort has required a large investment of public funds - about $13 billion. In 1952, the nuclear assets of the National Research Council were transferred to Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL), thus keeping the reins of control firmly in the hands of the federal government through this wholly owned crown corporation. In the early years, AECL sold plutonium produced at Chalk River for use in American nuclear weapons, to help defray the cost of nuclear research in Canada. The military sales were terminated in the mid-1960s, and the focus of the Canadian nuclear effort shifted to nuclear power for electricity generation through the development of the CANDU reactor. Early efforts were made to encourage the private sector to take a leading role in reactor manufacturing, as had occurred in the United States. However, due to a combination of high cost, high risk, and late entry into the international market, the industry ended up primarily in the public sector. Private sector companies are involved mainly as component manufacturers and consultants- but overall coordination, design and construction rested largely with AECL and Ontario Hydro.
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