Politics over Safety (and logic).

For the last couple of months there has been quite a stir in the Canadian nuclear world. The Chalk River reactor, the main source for medical isotopes, shut down for maintenance in November. The CNSC (the body responsible for overseeing nuclear safety in Canada) refused to let it start up again when it turned out that the owner (Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd) had failed to complete safety upgrades in the 50 year old reactor. The upgrades were a condition of their operating license. The CNSC's obligation was to deny permission to start up again without these upgrades. They are responsible for safety, not medical supplies. They have clear regulations regarding this. And they are meant to operate without political interference.
So when supplies of medical isotopes became short, literally decaying away, in steps our Conservative government and passes legislation to restart the reactor despite the missing upgrades. And note that the Liberals went along with this. The minister of natural resources aimed the blame directly at CNSC president Linda Keen, claiming her stubbornness put the lives of medical patients at risk, and that since she was appointed by the previous Liberal government her decision was politically motivated.
Also be aware that the two new reactors intended as replacements for this aging one are 8 years behind schedule, and may never start up! Where were the ministers (first the Liberal, and then the current one)? Why weren't they investigating this delay?
I know in my workplace two of the key values they work hard to instill in employees are conservative (not in the political sense) decision making and adherence to procedures (rules). These are critical to a culture of safety in the nuclear industry. From what I've seen, Linda Keen was working to these values. She was doing her job properly.
Who fucked up? AECL, the last two ministers of natural resources, and the prime minister who fired Ms. Keen yesterday.
There has been much talk of a nuclear "renaissance". If this is going to happen, safety is primary. For that we need a credible regulator, free to do their job properly regardless of who looks bad because of it. PM Harper destroyed that credibility last night. As my friend B said today, "Harper just shot the Canadian nuclear industry in the head."