RNNR Committee Meeting

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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

Meeting No. 45

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Standing Committee on Natural Resources met at 3:30 p.m. this day, in Room 371, West Block, the Chair, Leon Benoit, presiding.

Members of the Committee present: Mike Allen, David Anderson, Leon Benoit, Paule Brunelle, Nathan Cullen, Claude Guimond, Hon. Geoff Regan, Devinder Shory, Alan Tonks and Brad Trost.

Acting Members present: Rod Bruinooge for Brad Trost, Siobhan Coady for Hon. Navdeep Bains and Cheryl Gallant for Russ Hiebert.

In attendance: Library of Parliament: Jean-Luc Bourdages, Analyst ; Mohamed Zakzouk, Analyst . House of Commons: Wayne Cole, Legislative Clerk ; Lucie Tardif-Carpentier, Legislative Clerk.

Witnesses: Department of Natural Resources: Dave McCauley, Director, Uranium and Radioactive Waste Division, Electricity Resources Branch; Jacques Hénault, Analyst, Nuclear Liability and Emergency Preparedness. Department of Justice: Brenda MacKenzie, Senior Legislative Counsel, Advisory and Development Services Section.

Pursuant to the Order of Reference of Monday, June 1, 2009, the Committee resumed consideration of Bill C-20, An Act respecting civil liability and compensation for damage in case of a nuclear incident.

The Committee resumed its clause-by-clause study of the Bill.

The Committee resumed clause-by-clause consideration on Clause 45 of the Bill.

After debate, Clause 45 carried on division.

After debate, Clause 46 carried.

Clause 47 carried.

By unanimous consent, Clause 48 was allowed to stand.

Clause 49 carried.

After debate, Clause 50 carried.

Clause 51 carried.

After debate, Clause 52 carried.

After debate, Clause 53 carried.

Clause 54 carried.

Clause 55 carried.

After debate, Clause 56 carried on division.

After debate, Clause 57 carried on division.

After debate, Clause 58 carried.

Clause 59 carried.

After debate, Clause 60 carried.

Clause 61 carried on division.

After debate, Clause 62 carried on division.

Clause 63 carried on division.

After debate, Clause 64 carried on division.

After debate, Clause 65 carried.

By unanimous consent, Clause 66 was allowed to stand.

Clause 67 carried.

Clause 68 carried on division.

Clause 69 carried.

Clause 70 carried.

Clause 71 carried.

Clause 72 carried.

Clause 73 carried.

Clause 74 carried.

At 4:38 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 4:44 p.m., the sitting resumed.

By unanimous consent, the Committee reverted to Clause 21 previously stood.

On Clause 21,

Nathan Cullen moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 21, be amended by replacing line 39 on page 6 with the following:

“incident is limited to $1.2 billion.”

The Chair ruled the proposed amendment inadmissible because it infringed on the financial initiative of the Crown, as provided on pages 767-768 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition.

Nathan Cullen moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 21, be amended by adding after line 39 on page 6 the following:

“(1.1) Notwithstanding subsection (1), if damage results from a nuclear incident relating to the operation of a nuclear installation that was constructed after the coming into force of this Act, the liability of the operator under this Act for that damage is limited to $1 billion.”

Nathan Cullen moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 21, be amended by adding after line 39 on page 6 the following:

“(1.1) If a nuclear incident occurs and the operator fails to prove that the incident was not caused by its negligence, the liability limit referred to in subsection (1) is increased to three times that amount, and any compensation that is payable as a result of the incident shall not be provided for out of the Nuclear Liability Reinsurance Account.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Nathan Cullen and it was negatived on the following recorded division: YEAS: Nathan Cullen — 1; NAYS: Mike Allen, David Anderson, Paule Brunelle, Siobhan Coady, Cheryl Gallant, Claude Guimond, Geoff Regan, Devinder Shory, Alan Tonks, Brad Trost — 10.

Clause 21 carried on division.

On Clause 22,

Nathan Cullen moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 22, be amended by adding after line 20 on page 7 the following:

“(3) The first review shall occur during the period beginning on the first day of the twelfth month and ending on the last day of the fifteenth month after this Act comes into force.”

After debate, by unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.

By unanimous consent, Clause 22 was allowed to stand.

On new Clause 68.1,

David Anderson moved, — That Bill C-20 be amended by adding after line 3 on page 20 the following new clause:

“TRANSITIONAL PROVISION

68.1 The first review under section 22 must be completed within 15 months after the day on which this Act comes into force.”

By unanimous consent, after debate, the question was put on the amendment of David Anderson and it was agreed to.

The Committee resumed clause-by-clause consideration on Clause 22 of the Bill.

On Clause 22,

Nathan Cullen moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 22, be amended by adding after line 20 on page 7 the following:

“(3) In carrying out the review, the Minister shall, in concert with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources, hold public consultations on the limit of liability that include

(a) the participation of both industry and non-industry stakeholders; and

(b) at least one public meeting in a community located in close proximity to a nuclear power plant.”

After debate, by unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.

David Anderson moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 22, be amended by adding after line 20 on page 7 the following:

“(3) In carrying out the review, the Minister shall hold public consultations that include

(a) the participation of both industry and non-industry stakeholders; and

(b) the participation of any parliamentary committee that may be designated or established te review matters relating to nuclear energy.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of David Anderson and it was agreed to.

Clause 22, as amended, carried.

On Clause 23,

Nathan Cullen moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 23, be amended by replacing line 23 on page 7 with the following:

“contains nuclear material, or for each nuclear reactor in the case of a nuclear installation that generates electricity, financial security in”

Clause 23 carried on division.

On Clause 26,

Nathan Cullen moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 26, be amended by replacing lines 24 to 43 on page 8 with the following:

“26. Any damages that exceed the financial security referred to in subsection 23(1) shall be provided for under section 27.1.”

Nathan Cullen moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 26, be amended by adding after line 43 on page 8 the following:

“(5) When the Minister causes a copy of a reinsurance agreement to be laid before each House of Parliament under subsection (4), the Minister shall also cause to be laid before each House a copy of all related risk assessment studies that were completed before the reinsurance agreement was entered into.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Nathan Cullen and it was agreed to on division.

Geoff Regan moved, — That Bill C-20, in Clause 26, be amended by adding after line 43 on page 8 the following:

“(5) Every agreement referred to in subsection (1) that relates to a nuclear installation operated by a degree-granting educational institution shall provide that Her Majesty in right of Canada shall reinsure the risk to

(a) a minimum of

(i) $1.5 million, if the nuclear installation is a reactor with a production capacity that is greater than one megawatt but less than 10 megawatts, or

(ii) $500,000, if the nuclear installation is a reactor with a production capacity of one megawatt or less; and

(b) a maximum equal to the amount set out in subsection 21(1), as amended from time to time by regulation.”

By unanimous consent, it was agreed, — That the amendment be amended by replacing, after the words “educational institution”, the word “shall” with the word “may”.

After debate, by unanimous consent, the subamendment was withdrawn.

Clause 26 carried on division.

At 5:36 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

Carol Chafe
Clerk of the Committee

2010/02/03 12:05 p.m.