Ottawa, ON – This week, while the Minister of Natural Resources was trying to defend his government’s decision to award management of Canada’s strategic nuclear laboratories to an all-American consortium, he said that “elbows up” can mean “lots of things.”
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) is the historic birthplace of Canadian nuclear power, and performs not only cutting-edge nuclear research but also produces life-saving medical isotopes such as Cobalt-60, Molydenum-99 and Actinium-225.
But their crucial research is at risk. The Liberals will reportedly pay their hand-picked, all-American consortium $1.2 billion per year to take over management of CNL.
Concerns about this American-owned monopoly over Canada’s medical isotopes have already triggered three separate Competition Bureau investigations, but the Bureau has been forced to obtain court orders to get the information that they need.
Even more troubling is the question of whether Prime Minister Mark Carney stands to personally benefit. His own disclosure to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner showed he owns shares in one of the members of the consortium.
Conservatives call for the Liberals to stop blocking the investigation into this deal and give Canadians the facts.