One must seriously ponder the events and circumstances which lead up to the dismissal of Linda Keen for doing her job as Canada’s nuclear safety watchdog.
The simple but perplexing question is why fire someone for actually doing her job? The answer is equally simple. She made the politicians, and in particular Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, look bad, which the prime minister stated as having lost the confidence of the government.
As for Mr. Lunn’s accusation that Ms. Keen showed “a lack of leadership” in handling the extended shutdown, I can only wonder how many people would be comfortable if the public nuclear safety watchdog was rushing the decisions that involved equipment using radioactive materials.
Had our elected officials done their job in the first place, there would not have been a need to shut down the reactor. It was the government’s budget cuts, their cabinet minister’s lack of direction and their posturing and political games which caused this crisis.
Pity we can’t fire the politicians. Until the next election, that is.
Pierre Quesnel,
Ottawa