SASKATOON – Saskatchewan’s Minister of Crown Investments Corporation and for SaskPower, Jeremy Harrison, voiced his enthusiasm for the launch of Canada’s Nuclear Energy Strategy from the federal government.
At Monday's news conference in Saskatoon at the announcement of the release of the Crowns annual reports, Harrison spoke at length about his trip to Newmarket, Ontario the previous day. He was there for the announcement on the nuclear strategy along with federal Minister Tim Hodgson, Ontario Minister of Energy Stephen Lecce and New Brunswick Finance Minister René Legacy.
Minister Harrison called it “a really, really good announcement,” and one that there was “real collaboration across the country on.”
In a news release Monday, the federal government stated the Nuclear Energy Strategy would set out how the country will “strengthen energy affordability, security and sustainability at home and abroad by building big — from new reactors to uranium development and beyond.”
The government said the Strategy is structured around four pillars of enabling new Builds across Canada; being a global supplier and exporter of Choice; expanding uranium Production and nuclear fuel opportunities and supporting world-class long-term nuclear waste management; and developing new Canadian nuclear innovations including fission and fusion.
There was “really a meeting of the minds across the country about our shared objectives,” said Harrison.
“We are committed to net zero by 2050 in our electricity generation. Nuclear is going to play the central role in that. We announced in our Energy Security Strategy … we made the binary yes-no decision. It's yes to deploy nuclear technology. We're working through both the SMR, small modular reactor process right now, which I'll provide an update on, and also going through the technology selection process on large scale nuclear also.
“But we really are very fortunate. And I appreciate the government of Canada recognizing the very central role that Saskatchewan plays in the global nuclear supply chain, being host to 25 per cent of the world's uranium reserves, host to, I think, about 24 per cent of exports in that uranium space last year — which will grow significantly, by the way, going forward, given that we have two major uranium mine projects that have been approved. And one of which will be beginning construction in the next number of months, which is an enormous new contribution to world energy security through Saskatchewan uranium, which also is going to play a central role in our energy security by powering Saskatchewan nuclear reactors as we go forward.”
Harrison noted that while there is “a lot in this country that pushes us apart — and I say that being from Western Canada — nuclear is an area that really we can bring the country together.”
“Whether that be power generation in New Brunswick and a long history as a nuclear operator, whether that be the central role that Ontario really plays in the global nuclear supply chain, including Saskatchewan companies like Cameco, which are a vital component to that, and bringing the country together with Western Canada — us — as a massive contributor to uranium supplies around the world, and then adding value as we move forward in that space through value added through our involvement in the supply chain, of which we are very committed to expanding, of which Cameco Westinghouse have played a central role.”
Government officials have been bullish for some time about Cameco‘s purchase of Westinghouse and what it means for the province in the nuclear space.
Harrison maintained that level of enthusiasm on Tuesday, saying people should be “very proud in this province” that Cameco is a 49 per cent owner of Westinghouse, an “iconic American company that now is entirely Canadian owned.”
He pointed to Cameco as having “now been able to acquire a company that's literally responsible for building reactors around the world, over half the world's reactor fleet, and powers half of the US Navy as well, by the way. It puts us in an incredibly significant position globally as it relates to nuclear reactors and on the fuel side as well, given the central role Cameco plays in that space.”
Harrison also said he gives the federal government a “lot of credit” for going further than any federal government had gone before in indicating an openness to looking at Canada becoming an enrichment country. He called this “something I don't think any federal government has been that explicit in saying.”
Harrison also praised the government for showing a “respect for provincial jurisdiction” in being responsible for technology selection, as well as their commitment to partner with provinces and territories on the financial mechanisms to get to nuclear power deployment, “which we have never seen as explicit and I would say as flexible as the federal government have laid out in this particular strategy,” he said.
The tone from Harrison on Tuesday was a far cry from past years when both he and his government would be at odds with the Trudeau Liberals on no shortage of issues including the carbon tax, the clean electricity regulations and other topics. But on the nuclear strategy the tone from Harrison was decidedly conciliatory.
“I think a lot of you have covered me for a while and know I'm probably the last guy who will ever put on a red T-shirt, but that being said, credit where it is due,” Harrison said at the news conference Tuesday.
“We have appreciated working with this government very much and look forward to working with them very, very closely as we move into that nuclear future.”
