OTTAWA — As Canada is pledging to maneuver away from the USA within the defence sector, critics are warning the federal authorities it’d wish to take a more in-depth have a look at a Crown company’s latest resolution to award a contract to a U.S.-based three way partnership for the administration of the nation’s nuclear laboratories for probably the subsequent 20 years.
On June 12, Atomic Vitality of Canada Restricted (AECL) introduced that Nuclear Laboratory Companions of Canada Inc. — a partnership with three major three way partnership companions and one key subcontractor — had been chosen to handle Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). These embody primarily Chalk River Laboratories, the birthplace of the CANDU reactor.
The administration contract is valued at $1.2 billion per 12 months on common, for six years, however could possibly be prolonged as much as a complete of 20 years based mostly on efficiency indicators.
Despite the fact that AECL’s bidding course of started in 2023 — lengthy earlier than U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to a second time period and began threatening Canada’s sovereignty — sources aware of the matter are questioning why AECL selected to work with corporations primarily based mostly within the U.S. to handle Canada’s delicate applied sciences within the nuclear sector.
“Given the present circumstances in Canada-U.S. relations, I believe it’s troubling {that a} contract of this magnitude can be awarded to a U.S.-based consortium,” stated one of many sources who spoke to the Nationwide Publish on the situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to debate the matter publicly.
“Now, Chalk River labs are going to be managed by American corporations which might be deeply concerned within the American navy and defence industrial complicated on the nuclear aspect,” they added.
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, who served as assistant deputy minister for Vitality Know-how and Packages at Pure Sources Canada, was simply as shocked to listen to concerning the contract: “Why on Earth can we not have the talent set to do that in Canada?”
“If this authorities is de facto severe about defending our vulnerabilities and constructing capability in Canada and strengthening Canadian firms… why would they farm out the administration of our treasured know-how, particularly one thing as distinctive as nuclear?” added McCuaig-Johnston, now a senior fellow on the College of Ottawa.
Regardless of its title, Nuclear Laboratory Companions of Canada Inc. consists principally of U.S.-based companions. Will probably be spearheaded by Virginia-based BWXT — an vital provider to the U.S. Defence Division. The opposite companions are Amentum — additionally based mostly in Virginia — and Kinectrics Inc. — an organization based mostly in Toronto however
purchased by BWXT earlier this 12 months
.
Its key subcontractor, Ohio-based Batelle Memorial Institute, is the world’s largest analysis and improvement group and manages nationwide laboratories, together with for the U.S. Division of Vitality and the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety.
American government Dennis Carr will assume duty of CNL as its president and CEO beginning in September. Carr, who has greater than 40 years of expertise within the nuclear sector, was most lately the pinnacle of the U.S. Division of Vitality’s Savannah River Web site and oversaw its nationwide laboratory earlier than he introduced his retirement in June.
Earlier this month, Pure Sources Minister Tim Hodgson stated the method to pick out the brand new administration of Canada’s nuclear services was carried out by AECL, independently from the federal government. He additionally stated the brand new entity will handle CNL’s 4,000 workers — each one in all whom relies in Canada, he stated — and that 95 per cent of the cash concerned will probably be spent in Canada.
“Canada welcomes firms from all jurisdictions to come back right here and work. That is cash that will probably be spent in Canada, overseeing Canadian jobs at Canadian services,” he stated.
In an e-mail, AECL’s director of communications stated, as a part of its procurement course of, the Crown company evaluated certified bidders based mostly on “their functionality, expertise and experience,” in addition to their skill to ship on AECL’s priorities, amongst different issues.
“We didn’t discriminate towards firms that aren’t based mostly in Canada. Nonetheless, we did have a look at the administration crew’s skill to ship on the scope of labor, and understanding the Canadian context performed a task in that analysis,” stated Jeremy Latta.
Latta stated whereas the three way partnership companions are certainly U.S.-based, half of their administration crew will probably be Canadian. As well as, all members of the manager crew, together with the incoming CEO, are contractually required to be based mostly in Canada.
For the previous decade, CNL was managed by Canadian Nationwide Vitality Alliance, a consortium fabricated from SNC-Lavalin (now AtkinsRéalis), Jacobs Engineering — which has since merged with Amentum — and Fluor Federal Providers — an engineering and development agency based mostly in Texas. The contract is about to run out in September.
Sources stated AtkinsRéalis was interested by pursuing the administration of CNL however finally dropped out of the bidding. In the long run, Nuclear Laboratory Companions of Canada Inc. was the one bidder left. A supply described AECL as not being “extremely clear” with Pure Sources Canada and former minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
Wilkinson declined an interview request about AECL’s bidding course of.
Chris Keefer, president of Canadians for Nuclear Vitality, stated he doesn’t lay blame on Hodgson for this case, including “it’s a course of that had been locked in for a number of years.” However he expressed concern that U.S. companions will probably be overseeing nuclear websites that could possibly be known as upon to defend Canada’s sovereignty, together with within the Arctic.
“We have to open potential seaways as local weather change is available in, we have to defend towards threats from Russia,” he stated. “It’d be actually good to have nuclear icebreakers.”
McCuaig-Johnston stated then prime minister Brian Mulroney introduced in 1987 that Canada was going to have a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to patrol the Arctic, however that concept was finally rejected two years later as a result of the value tag was too excessive.
Now that Canada is trying to ramp up defence spending in a dramatic option to meet NATO targets —
set at a summit Wednesday at 5 per cent of a rustic’s GDP by 2035
— she recommended the federal authorities may have an enormous funds to make these sorts of purchases.
McCuaig-Johnston stated Canada must be “agile to replicate altering circumstances,” and which means taking a tough have a look at the administration of this nation’s nuclear websites.
“We now have a window till September, once they take over, to say we’re taking one step again, we’re going to take a look at this once more and we’re going to evaluate what our different choices is perhaps, provided that this specific know-how is of specific worth to Canada,” she stated.
One supply stated they can’t bear in mind a time when there can be this a lot U.S. involvement in a nuclear facility that has entry to Canada’s mental property, and cited issues with mental property theft and company espionage.
“It positively doesn’t scream ‘elbows up’ to me.”
Nationwide Publish
calevesque@postmedia.com
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