NDP Demands to Know What Saskatchewan People are Getting for $3-Million Bill on Nuclear
NDP Leader Lorne Calvert today raised more concerns surrounding the Uranium Development Partnership (UDP), which is the Sask Party’s first step toward a nuclear reactor. A Freedom of Information request shows that although the panel is examining one of the most important issues facing Saskatchewan, it met just once in 2008 – On October 20th, the day it was formed. Calvert also raised questions about McKinsey and Company, the consultant hired by Crown Investments Corporation.
“When were the consultants hired and exactly what are they doing for the $3-million the Sask Party government gave them?” Calvert asked. “Is that why the government blacked out the “deliverables” from the consultant? If Saskatchewan taxpayers are footing the bill, they deserve to know what they are getting for their money. I would also like to know how many times in the past three months that the UDP met, because they only met once in 2008.”
Calvert also pointed to examples of bias in favour of the nuclear industry on the part of the panel and the consultant that has been hired. A recent report by McKinsey and Company prepared for the Ontario government on nuclear power states “Many governments and stakeholder groups worldwide are reconsidering their historical anti-nuclear stance, and momentum is increasing for nuclear technology in a number of major markets.” As well, three members of the UDP sit on the board of Bruce Power, the company looking to build a reactor in Saskatchewan.
“The panel members spent the past five months touring Bruce Power’s nuclear plants and reading pro-nuclear books. And now we are supposed to believe they are going to deliver an objective assessment of whether Saskatchewan wants or needs a nuclear reactor,” Calvert said. “This is like asking Campbell’s what brand of soup you should buy. Saskatchewan people expect more transparency and accountability on an issue as important as this.”
“When were the consultants hired and exactly what are they doing for the $3-million the Sask Party government gave them?” Calvert asked. “Is that why the government blacked out the “deliverables” from the consultant? If Saskatchewan taxpayers are footing the bill, they deserve to know what they are getting for their money. I would also like to know how many times in the past three months that the UDP met, because they only met once in 2008.”
Calvert also pointed to examples of bias in favour of the nuclear industry on the part of the panel and the consultant that has been hired. A recent report by McKinsey and Company prepared for the Ontario government on nuclear power states “Many governments and stakeholder groups worldwide are reconsidering their historical anti-nuclear stance, and momentum is increasing for nuclear technology in a number of major markets.” As well, three members of the UDP sit on the board of Bruce Power, the company looking to build a reactor in Saskatchewan.
“The panel members spent the past five months touring Bruce Power’s nuclear plants and reading pro-nuclear books. And now we are supposed to believe they are going to deliver an objective assessment of whether Saskatchewan wants or needs a nuclear reactor,” Calvert said. “This is like asking Campbell’s what brand of soup you should buy. Saskatchewan people expect more transparency and accountability on an issue as important as this.”
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