Election Survey Finds Opposition to Government Strategy Linking Nuclear to Climate Change
Liberal Government committed to continued subsidization of nuclear industry
Ottawa - An election survey undertaken by a coalition of environment and public interest groups reveals that a Liberal government would continue funding the nuclear industry and envisages nuclear power as an ongoing part of Canada’s energy mix despite the global decline in the industry. The Canadian Alliance is undecided as to whether subsidies should continue. The Bloc, NDP and Green Party believe that federal subsidies to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) should be halted.
The NDP, Bloc and Green parties have also come out against allowing nuclear energy greenhouse gas emission credits under the Kyoto Agreement. The Canadian Alliance is undecided on the issue.
Parties responding to the survey included the Liberals, Canadian Alliance, NDP, Bloc Québecois and the Green Party. The Progressive-Conservative Party did not respond. The Liberal Party chose not to answer questions directly, but its answers to the survey questions were extracted from details in their response and their record.
A recently released study published by the Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout shows that the Liberal government has backtracked on its commitment to decrease subsidies to the nuclear industry. (The Liberals have increased subsidies, relative to their 1996 promise to cut them back to $100 million annually, by 14% in 1997; 27% in 1998; 27% in 1999; and 57% in 2000.) The NDP stated that “for the most part, federal funding for, and subsidies to AECL should be ended by 2002.” However, the NDP believes that “funding for nuclear medicine research, and nuclear diagnostic and therapeutic treatments should be continued.” In their response to the survey, both the Bloc and Green parties remarked that nuclear subsidies should be redirected towards renewable energy.
The Canadian government, at CoP 6 in the Hague, is currently pushing for greenhouse gas emission credits for the export of nuclear reactors to developing countries. “It is completely unconscionable for the Liberals to be promoting nuclear as a solution to climate change. It is an industry which is being phased out globally for economic and environmental reasons and the Canadian government should end its subsidization ,” stated Marc Chénier of the Centre d’analyse des politiques énergétiques.
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For further information, contact:
Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout, 613-789-3634.
Centre d’analyse des politiques énergétiques, 514-527-2712.
PDF available (124K): Survey and Response Results by Party,
summarizing party responses to questions related to plutonium imports, nuclear power and climate change, CANDU reactor exports, radioactive waste, uranium, nuclear subsidies and renewable energy alternatives.
The 2000 Federal Election Nuclear Policy Survey is a project of:
Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Canadian Environmental Law Association, Centre d'analyse des politiques énergétiques, Centre de resources sur la non-violence, Concerned Citizens of Manitoba, Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County, Energy Probe, Greenpeace Canada, Inter-Church Uranium Committee, Mouvement Vert Mauricie, Northwatch, Nuclear Awareness Project, Sierra Club of Canada, Women’s Network on Health and the Environment.