BULLETINS - Nuclear Reactor Info Task Force

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Experts Warn Against Handing Impact Assessment of Nuclear Projects Over to Captured Regulator

BULLETIN No. 28 - June 11, 2026 - Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force

NOTE: FOR BULLETINS No. 1-27, see: [ viewtopic.php?f=20&t=6307&start=15 ]

QUOTE: "Fast-tracking nuclear projects will put safety, health and environmental stewardship at risk, with possible catastrophic consequences. Handing responsibility for assessment of nuclear projects to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse."

Academics, environmental lawyers and civil society organizations are raising the alarm about proposals in the federal discussion paper, “Getting Major Projects Built in Canada.” An initial 30 day comment period ending June 7th was recently extended to July 22 after the government received "feedback from thousands of stakeholders, Indigenous groups, and members of the public".

The Canadian Environmental Law Association says the proposals in the discussion paper are “unjustified, regressive, and contrary to the public interest,” would reduce “public participation, transparency, and accountability,” and “would constitute the most significant rollback of federal environmental laws in recent decades.”

Particularly problematic is the proposal to hand assessment of nuclear projects over to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). Experts say nuclear projects require meaningful public participation and careful evaluation, based on evidence tested rigorously by independent experts.

The CNSC is led by industry insiders, has never turned down a license application, reports to a Minister who promotes nuclear power, and withholds information. Academic studies observe that the CNSC has features of a “captured regulator”. Public trust in the CNSC has declined over many years.

Even nuclear projects currently being reviewed by the Impact Assessment Agency--new reactor builds at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station; Peace River, Alberta; and Wesleyville, Ontario; and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s plan to transport, process, bury, and abandon high-level nuclear waste in northwestern Ontario--would be turned over to the CNSC.

Indigenous people and members of the public have invested tens of thousands of hours engaging in review processes for these projects in good faith. To hand them over to the CNSC now would erode public trust in governance structures, and create risks of accidents with catastrophic consequences.

Public interest organizations have collaborated to create a web page and backgrounders that provide more detailed information: Assessing-Nuclear-Risk.ca .

[ https://stats.sender.net/browser_previe ... lvq-1PIZTE ]

Visit smrs-info.ca to learn more . . .
The Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force is a network of groups in Canada concerned and active on the nuclear file. Together we have many decades of experience providing information to Canadians about nuclear issues, including the proposed small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). We are providing this bulletin free of charge to encourage more informed awareness of nuclear energy and its potential implications for communities across the country.