Minister Calls for New Regulatory Processes
March 23, 2012
A guest blog from our friends at AREVA.
Minister Calls for New Regulatory Processes
Joe Oliver, Canada’s minister for natural resources, said that new, more efficient regulatory processes are needed or the nation could miss out on vital economic opportunities. This issue is of major significance for Saskatchewan’s natural resources industry, which includes uranium mining. Saskatchewan is home to the world’s best uranium deposits and responsible for 17% of the world production.
“No one will stand around and wait for Canada to get its act together, and I doubt I’ll get much argument about that from this audience,” said Oliver before about 50 people at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Centre on Tuesday in Regina. Oliver’s 20-minute presentation was hosted jointly by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce and the Saskatchewan Mining Association.
Oliver noted that Saskatchewan stands to benefit from exporting uranium to countries such as China which are building new nuclear power plants. But, he noted, that under the current regulatory structure the country is at a disadvantage.
Click here to read the full article.
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What TalkNUclear thinks:
A more efficient regulatory process has the potential to bring many benefits to Canada. The benefits are economic and social, but also environmental. We made this point when the CNA presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development when they were looking at how to improve the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA). Environmental Assessments (EA), under the Act, are very important in our industry; they are a valuable planning tool. We think it’s important to remove process steps that add little or no value to the environment, and have the potential to draw attention away from what really matters.
Read more about our thoughts on regulatory reform, specifically the CEAA review:
Canadian Nuclear Association Encourages Government to Give Full Consideration to CEAA Report Recommendations, March 2012
Speech on the 7-Year Review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, Nov 2011
