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Canada’s Auditor-General repeatedly raised red flags over internal management issues at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. under previous Liberal governments, according to newly released documents.
The reports, made public for the first time yesterday, were generated by the auditor’s special examinations of the nuclear facility in 1998 and 2002. They show that a cluster of systemic “deficiencies” have plagued AECL for more than a decade – a time span during which both the Liberals and Conservatives were in office.
The release of the two audits came nearly a week after AECL bowed to pressure from the opposition Liberals, who began demanding the corporation publicize the Auditor-General’s 2007 special examination report after the company caused an international uproar by unexpectedly shutting down one of its nuclear reactors due to safety concerns.
The shutdown, at the company’s Chalk River, Ont., site, began in late November when Canada’s independent nuclear regulator deemed it vulnerable to earthquakes. The stoppage lasted about four weeks – it ended when Parliament passed legislation overruling the regulator, ordering the restart of the reactor – and resulted in a worldwide shortage of medical isotopes (the Chalk River facility is one of the world’s leading producers of isotopes used for therapy and diagnosis of several diseases).
Dale Coffin, a spokesman for Mississauga-based AECL, said yesterday the company decided to release the new audits because “it was felt that it was necessary to add context to the 2007 Auditor-General reports.”
“It obviously has become a focus of attention,” he said. But Mr. Coffin warned against reading too much into the reports.
“A special examination is a snapshot in time,” he said. “It’s what’s going on that year.”
Still, both reports hint that the corporation has had years of difficult dealings with the government, which by law is required to approve AECL’s annual corporate plans. The 1998 report flags the fact that, for unspecified reasons, AECL did not have a corporate plan approved for at least three years.
“The lack of government approval of a Corporate Plan for three years is extraordinary,” the report said. It describes AECL’s relationship with government officials as “contentious” and said that “makes it difficult for the Corporation to plan and manage its affairs over the long term.”
In the 2002 report, federal officials are quoted as saying AECL officials were perceived to be “reactive” or “defensive.”
The 1998 report also forecast troubles with the aging Chalk River reactor, which at the time required the company to set aside least $10-million a year for refurbishments. Much of that went to cover “urgent work, such as safety issues, and matters that could interrupt business operations,” the report said, adding, “Significant deferred maintenance remains.”
At the time, Liberal MP Ralph Goodale was responsible for overseeing AECL as minister of natural resources. The Auditor-General’s report said a copy of the document was delivered to the minister’s office for review. However, it is unclear whether Mr. Goodale made any attempts to improve relations with AECL or aid in its long-term planning problems.
Yesterday, a spokesman for Mr. Goodale said he declined to comment on the issue “for the simple reason that this goes back 10 years,” the spokesman said. “He doesn’t remember.”
Globe and Mail