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The purpose of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership is to encourage the growth of nuclear power worldwide. "It was a Bush initiative that Canada joined in December 2007 without any debate in parliament," explains Schacherl. An article printed in The Toronto Star on November 29, 2007 called on Canada to join a controversial nuclear partnership. The plan proposes re-using nuclear waste, a practice effectively banned in Canada and the U.S. since the 1970s for security reasons. It was announced in this article that Canada would be a part of the GNEP. Dave Martin of Greenpeace Canada insisted that "no matter which side of the nuclear debate you fall on - pro or anti - everyone should be able to agree this is something which deserves public scrutiny." Schacherl adds, "One of the principles of the GNEP partnership is that those countries who sell uranium will agree to take back the spent fuel. The United States, who initiated the partnership, benefits the most as it has a huge nuclear waste problem. Yucca Mountain, where long-term storage was once planned, has now been shelved for a number of reasons including community opposition. Countries such as Canada clearly don't benefit as they will take

The purpose of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership is to encourage the growth of nuclear power worldwide. "It was a Bush initiative that Canada joined in December 2007 without any debate in parliament," explains Schacherl. An article printed in The Toronto Star on November 29, 2007 called on Canada to join a controversial nuclear partnership. The plan proposes re-using nuclear waste, a practice effectively banned in Canada and the U.S. since the 1970s for security reasons. It was announced in this article that Canada would be a part of the GNEP. Dave Martin of Greenpeace Canada insisted that "no matter which side of the nuclear debate you fall on - pro or anti - everyone should be able to agree this is something which deserves public scrutiny." Schacherl adds, "One of the principles of the GNEP partnership is that those countries who sell uranium will agree to take back the spent fuel. The United States, who initiated the partnership, benefits the most as it has a huge nuclear waste problem. Yucca Mountain, where long-term storage was once planned, has now been shelved for a number of reasons including community opposition. Countries such as Canada clearly don't benefit as they will take

Canada and India announced a major nuclear trade deal Saturday. Officials in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office say the agreement, which has been in the works since the summer, will allow Canadian firms to export and import "controlled" nuclear materials, equipment and technology to and from India. The deal, expected to be signed and implemented soon, has been controversial because Canada cut nuclear trade in 1974 after India used Canadian materials to manufacture its first nuclear weapon. But the Harper government has been keen to re-establish the relationship because they estimate the energy market in the world's largest democracy will be worth between $25 billion and $50 billion during the next 20 years.

Canada and India announced a major nuclear trade deal Saturday. Officials in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office say the agreement, which has been in the works since the summer, will allow Canadian firms to export and import "controlled" nuclear materials, equipment and technology to and from India. The deal, expected to be signed and implemented soon, has been controversial because Canada cut nuclear trade in 1974 after India used Canadian materials to manufacture its first nuclear weapon. But the Harper government has been keen to re-establish the relationship because they estimate the energy market in the world's largest democracy will be worth between $25 billion and $50 billion during the next 20 years.

Question: When is a plan not a plan? Answer: When it is Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's "cleanup" proposal for the town of Port Hope, Ontario. At a packed hearing last week, Canada's nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, listened to presentations on the proposal from its staff, AECL, private citizens, and volunteer organizations - roughly 100 presentations in all, spanning 17 hours of hearing time. AECL is asking for a licence for a low level radioactive waste site. The site will house approximately 1.5 million cubic metres of nuclear and industrial waste, collected from the community over the course of the next decade. The proposal was approved in 2007, following a six-year environmental assessment. The ensuing licensing process should have been fairly straight forward - hash out a few technical details and get shovels in the ground.

Question: When is a plan not a plan? Answer: When it is Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's "cleanup" proposal for the town of Port Hope, Ontario. At a packed hearing last week, Canada's nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, listened to presentations on the proposal from its staff, AECL, private citizens, and volunteer organizations - roughly 100 presentations in all, spanning 17 hours of hearing time. AECL is asking for a licence for a low level radioactive waste site. The site will house approximately 1.5 million cubic metres of nuclear and industrial waste, collected from the community over the course of the next decade. The proposal was approved in 2007, following a six-year environmental assessment. The ensuing licensing process should have been fairly straight forward - hash out a few technical details and get shovels in the ground.

Question: When is a plan not a plan? Answer: When it is Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's "cleanup" proposal for the town of Port Hope, Ontario. At a packed hearing last week, Canada's nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, listened to presentations on the proposal from its staff, AECL, private citizens, and volunteer organizations - roughly 100 presentations in all, spanning 17 hours of hearing time. AECL is asking for a licence for a low level radioactive waste site. The site will house approximately 1.5 million cubic metres of nuclear and industrial waste, collected from the community over the course of the next decade. The proposal was approved in 2007, following a six-year environmental assessment. The ensuing licensing process should have been fairly straight forward - hash out a few technical details and get shovels in the ground.

Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., is sitting on a stockpile of orphaned bomb-grade uranium it doesn't want to talk about. Since the Crown corporation pulled the plug in May on further development of its two troubled MAPLE reactors at its Chalk River, Ont., nuclear laboratories, officials have debated how to deal with the estimated 45 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU) the United States exported to Canada for production of medical isotopes in the now-doomed reactors. Whatever the options are now for the highly enriched uranium, AECL isn't saying.

Canada's minister of natural resources got an earful Friday from members of the country's nuclear industry who say they want the federal government to make a firm decision on the future of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. While Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt received polite applause when she attended a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the Organization of Candu Industries in Oakville, Ont., those in the industry said indecision is hurting everyone in the sector. Last spring, the government announced its plan to break up AECL and possibly sell parts of the Crown corporation, but thus far no details have been announced.

Canada's minister of natural resources got an earful Friday from members of the country's nuclear industry who say they want the federal government to make a firm decision on the future of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. While Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt received polite applause when she attended a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the Organization of Candu Industries in Oakville, Ont., those in the industry said indecision is hurting everyone in the sector. Last spring, the government announced its plan to break up AECL and possibly sell parts of the Crown corporation, but thus far no details have been announced.

Canada's minister of natural resources got an earful Friday from members of the country's nuclear industry who say they want the federal government to make a firm decision on the future of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. While Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt received polite applause when she attended a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the Organization of Candu Industries in Oakville, Ont., those in the industry said indecision is hurting everyone in the sector. Last spring, the government announced its plan to break up AECL and possibly sell parts of the Crown corporation, but thus far no details have been announced.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited has signed a multimillion-dollar contract with Tokyo Electric Power Company, the Canadian government-owned corporation's first contract in Japan. The Canadian energy company announced the deal Tuesday, but did not reveal specific financial details of the agreement. AECL said the first pump seal was installed in early November on the boiler system of a Japanese nuclear power plant that began operations earlier this month. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is a full-service nuclear technology company, providing services to nuclear utilities around the world.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited has signed a multimillion-dollar contract with Tokyo Electric Power Company, the Canadian government-owned corporation's first contract in Japan. The Canadian energy company announced the deal Tuesday, but did not reveal specific financial details of the agreement. AECL said the first pump seal was installed in early November on the boiler system of a Japanese nuclear power plant that began operations earlier this month. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is a full-service nuclear technology company, providing services to nuclear utilities around the world.

The cleanup of low level radioactive waste in Port Hope has been given the go-ahead by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. A five-year licence for the project was announced by the commission yesterday. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. had requested a 10-year licence for the project. The licence will be valid until Dec. 31, 2014. It takes effect on the date of the land transfer of the Welcome Waste Management Facility property from Cameco and Canada Eldor Inc. to the federal government.

The cleanup of low level radioactive waste in Port Hope has been given the go-ahead by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. A five-year licence for the project was announced by the commission yesterday. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. had requested a 10-year licence for the project. The licence will be valid until Dec. 31, 2014. It takes effect on the date of the land transfer of the Welcome Waste Management Facility property from Cameco and Canada Eldor Inc. to the federal government.

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/c2c492/nuclear_waste_on_i) has announced the addition of the "Nuclear Waste on Ice: Lessons From Canada on Storing Spent Nuclear Fuel & High-Level Radioactive Waste" report to their offering. U.S. Nuclear Power is Stymied: The United States has spent more than $6 billion on the Yucca Mountain repository, and debate still rages over when - or whether - it will open. In contrast, Canada is close to settling on a course for burying its nuclear waste that promises none of the divisiveness that the Yucca Mountain project has spawned.

Canada is the new home to a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium from Iraq, the last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program. The 550 tonnes of "yellowcake," the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment, was sold to Canadian uranium producer Cameco Corp. in a transaction the official described as worth "tens of millions of dollars."

OTTAWA - Does Stephen Harper's Conservative government have a hidden nuclear agenda? Not if you happen to live outside Canada. The Canadian government has been campaigning internationally for months to add this country to the small, tightly circumscribed club of nuclear enrichment states. But the diplomatic arm-twisting only came to light less than three weeks ago, when the United States announced it was dropping its insistence on a ban on uranium enrichment technology to non-nuclear states.

Canada may divide its nuclear agency into two units in a bid to resolve the global shortage of medical isotopes, which are used for medical imaging to diagnose cancer and heart disease, Canada's natural resources minister said Friday. Lisa Raitt said the government would likely separate state-owned Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. into a research division that includes the medical isotopes reactor and another division for the pressurized heavy water reactors that generate electric power. The government has hired investment bankers N.M. Rothschild & Sons to develop a restructuring plan for AECL, Raitt said, and they are scheduled to report back to her in the next few months.

Canada said Thursday it hoped to sell a stake in its nuclear agency to try to grow Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and boost its reactor sales, amid growing interest around the world in nuclear power. Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt told a news conference AECL could not thrive in its current form as it is too small, with a mere 10 percent of installed reactor capacity in the world currently. As well, it would have to be restructured to make it more attractive to potential investors, she said. An 18-month review of AECL's operations called for a separation of its research division and its reactor business. The reactor sales arm could then seek an alliance or partnership, or be divested, it concluded.

A study released today by The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) concludes that uranium enrichment in Canada is likely to be more profitable for the Canadian nuclear industry than exporting natural uranium and buying it back in enriched form. Uranium Enrichment in Canada provides a detailed analysis of the Canadian mining of uranium, its subsequent processing, current enrichment technologies and the capital and operating costs of a modern centrifuge enrichment plant. It explains Canada's position as the world's largest producer and exporter of uranium, with an active nuclear power sector, but without the capability to enrich uranium.

Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. will slowly release into the Ottawa River some treated radioactive water collected from an early December leak at its Chalk River Laboratory. But in a report tabled Thursday in the House of Commons, the federal nuclear-safety regulator promises a controlled safe release of 47 kilograms of treated radioactive water, and says it will pose no threat to human or environmental health. The regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, was ordered to prepare the report by Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt. She wanted more information about two leaks in early December at the National Research Universal reactor at Chalk River.

Great Lakes United, Mining Watch Canada and Ecojustice are hailing a landmark decision from the Federal Court of Canada released late yesterday that will force the federal government to stop withholding data on one of Canada's largest sources of pollution - millions of tonnes of toxic mine tailings and waste rock from mining operations throughout the country. The Federal Court sided with the groups and issued an Order demanding that the federal government immediately begin publicly reporting mining pollution data from 2006 onward to the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). The strongly worded decision describes the government's pace as "glacial" and chastises the government for turning a "blind eye" to the issue and dragging its feet for "more than 16 years".

Nuclear facilities and power plants are contaminating local Canadian food and water with radioactive waste that increases risks of cancer and birth defects, says a new report to be released on Friday. The report, Tritium on Tap, produced by the Sierra Club of Canada, warned that radioactive emissions from various nuclear plants across the country have more than doubled over the past decade. The figures were based on statistics compiled by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission which measured pollution coming from the plants. Although Canadian guidelines have suggested that the existing levels of tritium in the water are safe, the report cites recent peer-reviewed studies, including a recent review by the UK's Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters, that suggest the opposite.

Nuclear facilities and power plants are contaminating local Canadian food and water with radioactive waste that increases risks of cancer and birth defects, says a new report to be released on Friday. The report, Tritium on Tap, produced by the Sierra Club of Canada, warned that radioactive emissions from various nuclear plants across the country have more than doubled over the past decade. The figures were based on statistics compiled by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission which measured pollution coming from the plants. Although Canadian guidelines have suggested that the existing levels of tritium in the water are safe, the report cites recent peer-reviewed studies, including a recent review by the UK's Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters, that suggest the opposite.

"India and Canada are set to sign a civilian nuclear energy agreement this weekend that will allow the South Asian nation to secure uranium, and nuclear equipment and technology to meet its energy needs. The accord is expected to be initialed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's stay in Toronto for the G-20 summit from June 26. Negotiations have made "substantial progress" and the agreement is waiting for approval by both sides, Vivek Katju, a secretary at India's foreign ministry, said in New Delhi today. "The agreement will cover the large ambit of peaceful nuclear applications." "

"Selling all or part of the country's publicly-owned nuclear agency is the only way to save it, says embattled Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis. He appeared Wednesday before the Senate's finance committee, which is furiously studying a massive 900-page budget bill that includes giving the government carte blanche to restructure Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. any way it sees fit without any public consultation. Paradis - who is under investigation by Parliament's ethics czar for a potential conflict in dealings with disgraced former MP Rahim Jaffer - argued AECL and particularly the CANDU reactor division is too small to compete globally and needs a huge injection of cash to get it on a more competitive footing. CANDU hasn't sold a new reactor in over 10 years."

A radioactive spill has occurred at the aging Chalk River nuclear reactor west of the capital after the facility was recently cranked up to double its normal output of medical isotopes, used in diagnosing and treating cancer, Sun Media has learned. The reactor is supplying up to 70% of the world's medical isotopes, and a shutdown could leave millions of cancer and heart patients in Canada and around the globe without critical treatments. But the radioactive spill and another ongoing leak at the reactor are bound to spark renewed controversy over the safety of the nuclear facility built in 1958. An internal report to federal nuclear regulators shows radioactive tritium was released into the air during the incident at the Chalk River reactor on Dec. 5.

OTTAWA-He is known as an "atomic veteran" and said his last wish would be to thank the federal government for something he believes it has not yet done. Bren Keetch, 70, remembers being loaded into trucks with other recruits and taken from the Petawawa military base to the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. plant in Chalk River, Ont., to clean up after a nuclear reactor accident in 1958. "We were dressed in calf-high rubber boots, wearing a pair of coveralls, woollen mittens and a First World War gas mask," he said. "That was our protective equipment when we were in nuclear wastewater over our boots and mopping up the spill."