Dion criticizes Tories over nuclear waste program
Dion criticized the Conservative government for considering a proposal to join the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, saying there are still too many unanswered questions about how best to deal with nuclear waste produced for use here in Canada.
The opposition leader also rapped the Tories for conducting months of secret talks about joining the organization and coming clean about the offer only days before a final decision is to be made.
"We are strongly against (it)," Dion told the Star.
The initiative proposes that nuclear energy-using countries and uranium-exporting countries band together to promote and safeguard the industry. Under the proposal, all used nuclear fuel would be returned to the original uranium-exporting country for disposal.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier told reporters in Sydney, Australia, yesterday that, as a major uranium producer, Canada has "considerable interests" in how the world decides to proceed with development and distribution.
"So we will have a decision in the near future about our participation," Bernier said.
Canada is the world's top producer of uranium, responsible for about one-third of the world's supply.
Ottawa already has a report by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization proposing several ways to manage nuclear waste, but it has not been made public.
Dion called for the Tories to make it public and to hold a public debate in Parliament before deciding whether to sign on to the nuclear partnership.
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CHONGQING - China plans to build a 525-MW hydropower station on the Wujiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality.
The Baima project, the last of a cascade of hydropower stations on the section of the Wujiang River in Chongqing, has gotten the green light from the National Development and Reform Commission, China's state planning agency, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform said Monday.
The project, in Baima township of Wulong district, is expected to involve an investment of 10.2 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), it said.
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With a power-generating capacity of 525 MW, it is expected…