By Canadian Press

Canada’s push for small nuclear reactors will be costly, ineffective, some MPs warn

Apr 25, 2023 | 10:28 AM

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asserted that Canada is “very serious” about developing nuclear technology across the country to meet growing power needs, but some members of Parliament are warning the technology could be costly and ineffective.

A Liberal MP is among the critics who say Ottawa is looking at an expensive investment into an unproven and potentially dangerous technology. 

The federal government started actively exploring small modular reactor technology in 2018, and released an action plan in 2020 that dubbed them a strategic Canadian asset that could leverage significant economic, geopolitical, social and environmental benefits. 

But Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says other renewable energy sources are getting cheaper, so there’s not much of a case for Canada to expand its capacity on that technology, which she said is being pushed by powerful lobbyists.

Liberal MP Jenica Atwin, who was first elected under the Green banner, said she is used to being an outlier in her caucus, but the party has allowed her to express her concerns about the unknowns of emerging nuclear technologies. 

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Are the B.C. Conservatives digging their own graves?

5h ago

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Culturally appropriate food goes beyond the ingredients on a plate

Dec 14, 2024

Two and Out

PETERS: Whether building up or tearing down, Kamloops is what you make it

Dec 13, 2024

Four nuclear energy stations are generating about 15 per cent of Canada’s electrical grid today, mostly in Ontario and New Brunswick, and as the facilities age more attention is being paid to the potential of smaller, more-portable reactors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2023. 

The Canadian Press