Canada's uncertain nuclear future

摘要

Backed by decades of research, experience and innovation, Canad's nuclear industry may be well positioned to take advantage of opportunities around the world. However, over the past two decades declining R&D funding has combined with an absence of new domestic nuclear power plant construction to push the sector into stagnation. Political and public support, once a source of strength and pride for the nuclear industry, has waned to such an extent that it is one of the greatest contributors to nuclear energy's decline. Recent decisions by political leaders, including moratoria on uranium mining in Quebec, Nova Scotia and British Columbia, Ontario's hesitancy to build proposed new reactors, and the federal government's privatisation of the reactor business of Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL), are seen by many as evidence that government is now looking to redefine its role in the sector.