MacKinnon, the best in the country. Fantastic as always. Try and get a hold of a paper copy of the Herald’s year in review. They post his best 20 or so cartoons of the year.
Harper prefers to roll the dice. Better that we all run the risk of radiation fallout than he run the risk of being held accountable for his 11th hour screw up at Chalk River………the new political calculus of me me me Harper.
He would fit right in there with the trailer Park Boys eh!
By Randy on 12.13.07 10:39 am
How do you think this would fit in Randy. I post this for all those that check newspapers across the country and then post those items that are derogatory to the Conservatives, such as Keith Phibbs and Greg W Oakville. Not even anything from David Bakody in Halifax. Here is the facts, just the facts.
Published Thursday December 13th, 2007
The federal Conservatives enjoyed a jump in support in Atlantic Canada over the past quarter, according to the latest survey by a Halifax-based polling company.
The Tories saw their support among decided voters increase to 38 per cent, up from 29 per cent in August, while the federal Liberals dropped to 37 per cent from 43 per cent. The NDP also saw a decrease in support, down three points to an even 20 per cent. The Green Party was down one point to four per cent.
Meanwhile, 45 per cent of those surveyed in the region are undecided.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the preferred choice among 29 per cent of Atlantic Canadians, up from 25 per cent. Support for Jack Layton slid two points to 20 per cent. Liberal leader Stephane Dion saw his support drop to 18 per cent from 25 per cent.
Backing for Elizabeth May of the Green Party held at five per cent.
You people are disgusting in your despicable mockery of Canada’s Prime Minister.
People worldwide are depending on Canada’s supply of medical isotopes for deadly diseases, and you take the low road of ridicule to save your disingenuous and crass political positions.
I hope we have an election this Spring-Summer so Canadians can judge for themselves with their votes.
Why does Dion abstain and deny Canadians the opportunity to vote .. and then caves on issues of principle that he proclaims are Liberal values..??
Where’s Zorpheus anyway? I keep getting this image in my head of Harper dressed as Queen’s Freddy Mercury and singing:
“Somebody. Somebody.
Won’t somebody pleeeeease
find me someone
toooooo blame.â€
Maybe if Zorph makes it reality I can get this very disturbing image out of my head.
By Liz on 12.13.07 9:32 am
I’m kicking around, but I made the mistake of deciding to clean and try to paint a few rooms at our place. In the process I had to move my computer/electronics lab room, the dining room and the living room. Through out the whole process I have had to sort through and uncluttered the place. I turned into a much bigger job than I had anticipated. I have to keep my wife happy (she’s actually thrilled, but wants her living room and dining back). So in the in term I have had to work off of my PPC/cell phone and a ASUS-Tek laptop. While there are fine for email/ browsing the web and the occasional word document, they are woefully underpowered for doing IT work and computer graphics.
I have been working like a dog every evening to finish this ~cough~ minor job I started and should hopefully have my Comp/Elec Lab up and running by tomorrow (will still be running on wireless connection until I drop a couple new Giga-Bit hard lines to my new office location in the house)
As soon as I have my systems up and running I have a one project for Garth that has to be done ASAP.
I’d say this editorial cartoon is entirely fitting/appropriate given that as it turns out the “experts” Harper used to justify his claims of nuclear safety at Chalk River over that of the regulator whom he accused of acting as a Liberal partisan hack out to make his government look bad with this shutdown regardless of how it affected Canadian lives/health turned out to be someone who was once an executive at the company that was non-compliant (AECL) and the other expert just happens to be a riding executive of one of his cabinet ministers. Sure, no appearance let alone actual conflicts of interest there nor any possible concerns about using the opinion of someone with far more obvious clear and stronger partisan political connections (riding exec) than the chair of the regulator to override that regulator plus someone that has a financial interest in the well being of AECL.
The more this is examined the more it becomes clear that Harper is acting purely in political damage control mode placing that above nuclear safety and willing to risk nuclear reactor failure rather than take the heat his government was talking regarding the isotope shortage the shutdown had caused. While yes the odds are good that nothing will happen during that 120 days, there is a major difference between saying the risk is low and that there is no risk, which was what Harper claimed in the House and that his “experts” told him. I have a real hard time believing that nuclear engineers (indeed any engineers for that matter) would ever state there is no risk where nuclear reactors are concerned, especially when they are not fully up to code/spec as required by nuclear safety regulations. Harper is clearly either being badly advised or is lying about what they told him for him to make this statement of no danger at all and that there is no risk of a nuclear accident at this reactor despite/given the clear evidence that disproves that (low risk is not no risk I remind CPC/Harper defenders) claim.
At first my outrage was at Harper for making a new low in the smear politics he was willing to play as well his inability to accept responsibility for anything that goes wrong under his government’s watch, it is always the Liberals fault or outside forces’ fault, it is never because the Harper CPC is as fault. However, the more I look into the details surrounding this issue the more it looks like Harper is setting a dangerous precedent of overriding the regulator purely for political damage control and not based on sound science nor sound safety engineering practices. That is a very serious matter/issue/concern, and the fact that he decried a Liberal partisan hack making this decision (the regulator the Libs appointed and Harper reconfirmed once he came to power, funny how Harper forgets to mention that) while using a former executive of the non-compliant company (who would have a financial interest based on retirement holdings he no doubt has, or his pension from the company) and a riding executive for one of his ministers, the definition of partisan hack, even if he is qualified in the field overall shows who is truly relying on a partisan hack to back his argument/claim. Not to mention his willingness to smear/lie and project his own actual sins upon his opponents, something sadly typical of the modern/new Conservatives.
How is it that the only experts this government could come up with have clear conflicts of interests in this matter, one financial the other political? Is Canada so short on nuclear safety engineers that these are the only ones they could turn up? If one takes what Minister Lunn said the other day in QP at face value, what are the odds that his deputy minister with no political interference/direction could somehow manage to find these two and recommend them as the best available from the overall pool of experts in this country? This is clearly a case of the PM using a political ally plus someone with a clear conflict of interest (financial and prior connection to noncompliant company) so as to make this claim of safety to reopen the plant, and given how he shamefully lied/smeared the regulatory chair and the Liberals for defending the regulator doing exactly what her job required of her when he called the regulatory chairperson a the Libs partisan hack this is particularly odious, even by the standards of hypocrisy this government has shown itself to practice.
There can be no defence for all of this, especially when one considers just how important this issue is. The fact that the government was able to railroad the other parties into supporting them on this by using the “expert testimony†of these “unbiased†witnesses, especially on the same day they launched their smear (and then only after the legislation comes out does anyone find out that the expert relied upon that did not have the questionable links to AECL turned out to be that riding exec for a CPC minister) makes it clear to anyone not blinded by partisan blinders that this government clearly placed its own partisan political concerns above the safety of Canadians both immediately with Chalk River itself (as well as misleading Canadians about the risk threat, as I keep saying low/little risk is not the same as no risk which is what Harper bluntly stated) but also in setting this precedent overriding the nuclear safety regulator, especially when it turns out it was done purely to save political face for the government as the primary consideration.
This is the so called leadership Harper/CPC defenders have been trumpeting about the past couple of days. Leadership like this will be the death of Canada as a nation, and the sooner this kind of leadership is shown the door the better for all Canadians, even that of many of the CPC supporters that do not realize yet just how much they will end up being shafted to suit the needs of the elites that Straussians like Harper feel are the only ones that deserve any consideration in terms of government policy.
Again, like yesterday this will be my only post for today on this, not from lack of interest but from offline matters to deal with. Turns out I have to spend a second day back out with my parents instead of just today. Thankfully I had to come back home to pick up a few things since when I left yesterday I thought I was coming home this afternoon. Well, until I return I hope I have provided enough material in here for others to consider/discuss. This is a very serious issue and the more that comes to life regarding the actions of the Harper government on this the more serious it looks as a very real non-partisan concern for all Canadians regarding nuclear safety and this government’s willingness to roll the dice rather than take the political heat while AECL finally brings its reactor up to safety code which they had been in breech of for over a year by the regulator whose job and responsibility is first and foremost the safe operation of nuclear reactors in this country on behalf of all Canadian citizens and not the political exposure of a sitting government nor that of a business, especially one that has a bad record of failing to stay within the required safety requirements as required by their operating permit.
This is very serious stuff folks, please try to treat it as such instead of just another partisan football, when we stop taking nuclear safety issues as a non-partisan concern then IMHO we have gone way too far down the road of partisanship above civic duty/responsibility. I will say this, if this situation had happened this way under a Liberal government and they had done as this CPC government did I would be just as angered, offended, and disgusted by it, anyone that places partisanship of nuclear safety is in my books an ass. Nuclear issues are too serious to treat any other way, period.
You people are disgusting in your despicable mockery of Canada’s Prime Minister.
People worldwide are depending on Canada’s supply of medical isotopes for deadly diseases, and you take the low road of ridicule to save your disingenuous and crass political positions.
I hope we have an election this Spring-Summer so Canadians can judge for themselves with their votes.
Why does Dion abstain and deny Canadians the opportunity to vote .. and then caves on issues of principle that he proclaims are Liberal values..??
Disgusting is putting it mildly ..!!!
By Harry S on 12.13.07 2:41 pm
You know Harry, I’ll put my money on my Engineering at AECL for their informed, educated and years of experience before I take Homer j. Harper’s opinion. I’m funny that way when it comes to running a nuclear reactor, I choose to listen to an Engineer with 20 years of experiences rather than Political/Economists (with zero real world experience) [aka Homer J. Harper].
Anyhoo Harry, I really hope you get your wish about that election, It’s my wish too!
I will say this, if this situation had happened this way under a Liberal government and they had done as this CPC government did I would be just as angered, offended, and disgusted by it, anyone that places partisanship of nuclear safety is in my books an ass. Nuclear issues are too serious to treat any other way, period.
……………………………….
You, Scotian, must be very very “angered, offended, and disgusted” at the Liberal opposition for caving in and supporting the Harper legislation.
Your Liberals may be even more culpable of “partisanship” than the Conservatives, by voting with the government on this crucial issue. They prefer to save their crass political arses which you conveniently ignore.
Why have your Liberals abandoned Canada and Canadians, and overtly neglected their “civic duty/responsibility” .. again ..??
You people are disgusting in your despicable mockery of Canada’s Prime Minister.
People worldwide are depending on Canada’s supply of medical isotopes for deadly diseases, and you take the low road of ridicule to save your disingenuous and crass political positions.
…
By Harry S on 12.13.07 2:41 pm
So just because AECL and NDS Nordion managed to hold us all hostage Harper gets to pull Larry and Curly out of his ass and call them independant experts?
I can’t help thinking The Crocodile would have made a few phone calls, figured out the biggest crisis anyone was facing was the AECL board watching the rest of the world learn to live without them, and told Mr. Burns to get lost.
Not my post. It would appear that somebody is posting under my name.
The last time I saw those words was in a posting by Leasa. While I know it is common among women, I have never,ever, heard of a man peeing himself by laughing.
Surely with all the Nuclear facilities in North America we can find a safe one to provide isotopes. I can’t believe our entire medical profession relies on Chalk River. What about Pickering, to name one other Reactor in Ontario? No isotopes available from there?
Betty White – I hope you and the Atlantic folks are prepared to thank Bill Casey’s pressure for whatever Harper gave in to. Without Casey it woudn’t have happened – and Harper should thank him as well.
Cartoons and a little fun are part of political life – Harper says he can take a punch. Afterall, he’s the leader of put downs.
You people are disgusting in your despicable mockery of Canada’s Prime Minister. By Harry S on 12.13.07 2:41 pm
Harry, you may have a point there but its just as disgusting of you people making despicable mockery of the Honorable Stephane Dion, Opposition Party & soon to be next Prime Minister Of Canada. BTW, at least Dion is truthful & has class.
Today Michael Ignatieff suggested that the Auditor General investigate this whole AECL / MDS Nordion / isotope affair. I’m with him on that 100%. The reactor should have stayed down one more week to complete repairs, and in my view all MPs made a mistake. An assortment of related thoughts and considerations:
♦ – Today Harper was again demonstrating his puerile nature and faulty judgement under fire by yet again attacking the one person with any credibility in this whole affair, the only person who did her job, Linda Keen. Here is a man who when caught with his failings will not own up to them, rather will stoop so low as to attack the one person whose sole interest is our safety, then go further by trying to tie a Liberal-partisan string to it. Fortunately, those who know her say Ms. Keen’s a fighter:
At the centre of the storm
The president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission isn’t likely to back down in her battle against the government, colleagues say
December 13, 2007 at 4:09 AM EST
She is, by all accounts scrappy, headstrong and not willing to suffer fools. And unless her friends miss their guess, Linda Keen may just be willing to become the poster girl for bureaucratic independence.
Ms. Keen, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission president who is at the centre of the storm involving the shutdown of the Chalk River reactor, has been pilloried by members of the Conservative government over the past two days for the shutdown that has stopped production of medical isotopes.
But if the Conservatives think they will intimidate Ms. Keen by calling her partisan and inflexible, her supporters say they may have another thing coming. Indeed, when asked if Ms. Keen would be willing to fight for her position up to the end, those who know her say that’s probably likely.
♦ – Like Ford and it’s “Quality is Job 1” slogan, the spokesman for the Chalk River facility tells parliament that Safety is Number 1. In the Spring of 2006, the Nuclear Safety Commission first raised concerns about the reactor’s safety when its licence came up for renewal. It granted a new licence to AECL on condition that it would complete seven safety upgrades. On November 19, 2007, commission inspectors discovered that one of the upgrades – the connection of two cooling pumps to a backup power supply – had not been carried out as promised. If safety is number 1, as purported, then why did this occur?
• Credibility of regulator is much higher than AECL. • There is an arrangement between all of the major suppliers of isotopes in the world – in the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, South Africa – that if one facility goes down, the others will increase production to make up the difference. In fact they brag about the ability to smooth over such supply interruptions, as happened during a recent shutdown at Chalk River caused by labour disputes. • The cause of the shortage has largely been one of economics. AECL and MDS Nordion have engineered this crisis as a consequence of not wanting to pay premium prices for external supplies. • There is almost no reporting of supply interruptions in the US. If such an override of the regulator occurred in the US, there would be an outcry against not maintaining proper arms-length governance.
♦ – MDS Nordion obliquely admits to financial considerations with respect to the need to restart now.
Restarting reactor will ease financial hit, MDS says
Globe and Mail Update
December 13, 2007 at 11:31 AM EST
The early re-start of a nuclear reactor that produces medical isotopes will mean MDS Inc.’s [MDS-T]isotope distribution arm will take less of a hit than expected, the company said Thursday. MDS’s Nordion division had predicted Dec. 5 that it would face a cut of $8-million to $9-million (U.S.) on its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. But the start-up of the Chalk River reactor, ordered by the federal government Wednesday night, means the impact will be lower than that, MDS officials said on a conference call.
They did not specify what the financial impact will now be.
…
MDS’s fourth quarter profit fell to $15-million from $47-million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell to 13 cents from 33 cents. The significant decline in the value of the U.S. dollar reduced adjusted pretax earnings by about $15-million, the company said. Revenue rose to $318-million from $260-million . http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071213.wmdsstaff1213/BNStory/Business
♦ – The emergency backup systems are meant to supply power to the pumps in case of all emergencies: earthquake, flood, fire, tornado: • I’ve said enough in previous threads with respect to earthquakes, and would only like to point out that in February 2006 an earthquake struck the Ottawa Valley with sufficient force to produce a loud explosive sound, but did not cause any reported structural damage. • While I do not think it is likely that Chalk River would be subjected to flood, a fair sized dam spanning the Ottawa River does exist a mere 21 km. upstream. http://www.opg.com/power/hydro/ottawa_st_lawrence/des_joachims.asp • The possibility of fire needs no further explanation. • With it being winter, it is the wrong time of year to consider tornadoes to be an issue, but in the longer term they cannot be ignored. Renfrew County has the highest incidences of tornadoes in all of Eastern Ontario, experiencing about 1 per year. In 2006, there were two incidents in the region, one spreading damage along Highway 17 from Deep River to Mattawa, with broken trees everywhere, the other to the west in Combermere two weeks later. This link illustrates the frequency of tornado events in the region: http://www.ontarioweather.com/specials/database/images/eontario.gif
On July 17, 2006, a series of powerful storms ripped from Manitoulin Island to North Bay and Mattawa, then on to Deep River and into Quebec. The hot, moist air mass that had been baking residents for days lifted as a cold front approached. The atmosphere exploded, firing off a myriad of wild winds – funnel clouds, straight-line winds, microbursts and tornadoes. The fast-moving, well-organized storm dealt a large swath of damage nearly 400 km long. While intermittent, a Warning Preparedness Meteorologist in Ontario stated the storm tract was one of the longest in Ontario’s history. The storms scythed across the province, splintering trees, snapping hydro poles and downing power lines. The combination of strong winds, lashing rain and thousands of lightning strikes left many communities in chaos, prompting several municipal leaders to declare states of emergency. At the end, two people had been killed and 250,000 people were without power. The region around North Bay, Callander and Mattawa was hit the hardest.
…
In Ontario, a second major storm hop-scotched through hundreds of kilometres of cottage country on August 2-3 leaving properties once again in shambles. At Combermere, north of Bancroft, an F2 category tornado packing winds between 180 km/h to 240 km/h inflicted extensive damage. Its twisting winds tossed docks on shore and pushed cottages off their foundations. Once-towering, century-old pines were reduced to stumps and de-barked. In Gravenhurst, the storm peeled back the roof of the local curling rink. It was a miracle that no one was killed or seriously injured. Environment Canada confirmed that the weather system on August 2 triggered 14 tornadoes, including two F2 touchdowns. It was the highest number of tornadoes for a single event ever in the province and represented what Ontario normally sees in one year. http://ontario.hazards.ca/historical/Tornado_Ontario-e.html
♦ – On October 31, 2006 the Honourable Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, announced the appointment of Mr. Burns as Chair of the Board of Directors of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). Mr. Burns, eh? First name wouldn’t be Montgomery, would it? I believe that was the first step in what is called karma.
The advanced-design Maple Reactors were suppose to replace the aging Chalk River CANDU reactor. The owner, MDS Nordion, of these plants is between a rock and hard place. They can’t get licenses for these reactors based on more than one factor. Unravelling the obstacles has proven so far to be next to impossible.
Uupdated story from The Star outlining the problems the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), the regulatory agency, not being able to license them because of the defect with the design of the maple reactors, and the spot, MDS Nordian, the owners of the reactors, and AECL who operate the reactors find themselves in:
- When the PM and two Ministers stood in the house and declared a medical emergency had they properly considered there are other reactors in the world that could have stepped up production?
- Was Cabinet even aware there were alternate sources available
- Was International Affairs asked if any action was needed to allow for import of the isotope from other sources to the MDS facility?
Considering an act of Parliament has contradicted its own previous legislation to push this through, I think a call for post-mortem to the Solicitor General is in order (which lets Sparky off the hook).
48 comments ↓
Garth,
That is too funny. Nearly peed myself laughing.
Gord
MacKinnon, the best in the country. Fantastic as always. Try and get a hold of a paper copy of the Herald’s year in review. They post his best 20 or so cartoons of the year.
Flattery will get you no where.
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/285192
Hilarious!
Where’s Zorpheus anyway? I keep getting this image in my head of Harper dressed as Queen’s Freddy Mercury and singing:
“Somebody. Somebody.
Won’t somebody pleeeeease
find me someone
toooooo blame.”
Maybe if Zorph makes it reality I can get this very disturbing image out of my head.
“Many a truth is told in jest”.
I think in the only episode I’ve watched, Homer fell into a black hole after consulting with “that guy in the wheelchair!”
Maybe Homer knows more than you give him credit for…… or not!
By Liz on 12.13.07 9:32 am
LOL.
Whoa, that’s a scarey thought, PMSH in a leotard, or without a shirt.
I think his encore would have to be,
“I want my way,
I want my way,
I want my way,
and I want it now!”
General Electric, btw
Chances of them taking the Maple-X project with them? $lim to none.
Whoa, that’s a scarey thought, PMSH in a leotard, or without a shirt.
By James- Chatham
—————-
He would fit right in there with the trailer Park Boys eh!
Harper’s Nuclear Reaction:
Harper prefers to roll the dice. Better that we all run the risk of radiation fallout than he run the risk of being held accountable for his 11th hour screw up at Chalk River………the new political calculus of me me me Harper.
He would fit right in there with the trailer Park Boys eh!
By Randy on 12.13.07 10:39 am
How do you think this would fit in Randy. I post this for all those that check newspapers across the country and then post those items that are derogatory to the Conservatives, such as Keith Phibbs and Greg W Oakville. Not even anything from David Bakody in Halifax. Here is the facts, just the facts.
Published Thursday December 13th, 2007
The federal Conservatives enjoyed a jump in support in Atlantic Canada over the past quarter, according to the latest survey by a Halifax-based polling company.
The Tories saw their support among decided voters increase to 38 per cent, up from 29 per cent in August, while the federal Liberals dropped to 37 per cent from 43 per cent. The NDP also saw a decrease in support, down three points to an even 20 per cent. The Green Party was down one point to four per cent.
Meanwhile, 45 per cent of those surveyed in the region are undecided.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the preferred choice among 29 per cent of Atlantic Canadians, up from 25 per cent. Support for Jack Layton slid two points to 20 per cent. Liberal leader Stephane Dion saw his support drop to 18 per cent from 25 per cent.
Backing for Elizabeth May of the Green Party held at five per cent.
Interesting
Its not like the need for contingencies weren’t considered by the industry (pdf)
You’d think there’d be a whitepaper about it kicking around somewhere by now.
A great quote by the great Homer J Simpson. “Beer, the cause of and temperary solution to all of lifes problems.”
Another great one. “A wise man wins his battles with pointed words…sticks I meant pointed sticks”
By Betty White on 12.13.07 11:26 am
And?
“Many a truth is told in jestâ€.
By Barry T on 12.13.07 9:42 am
I agree.
By Betty White on 12.13.07 11:26 am
And when did we, of the culture of defeat, suddenly become worthy?
Cherry picker. Are you Cheeky Pete’s mother?
By Emilie on 12.13.07 12:42 pm
So?
By Brian Dondo on 12.13.07 10:26 am
Interesting article Grasshopper. Thank you.
Methinks the salary is an honorarium, and conviction is negotiable.
You people are disgusting in your despicable mockery of Canada’s Prime Minister.
People worldwide are depending on Canada’s supply of medical isotopes for deadly diseases, and you take the low road of ridicule to save your disingenuous and crass political positions.
I hope we have an election this Spring-Summer so Canadians can judge for themselves with their votes.
Why does Dion abstain and deny Canadians the opportunity to vote .. and then caves on issues of principle that he proclaims are Liberal values..??
Disgusting is putting it mildly ..!!!
By Harry S on 12.13.07 2:41 pm
Harry, are you ready for the response from ZENN Industries? I am waiting for your response.
Hilarious!
Where’s Zorpheus anyway? I keep getting this image in my head of Harper dressed as Queen’s Freddy Mercury and singing:
“Somebody. Somebody.
Won’t somebody pleeeeease
find me someone
toooooo blame.â€
Maybe if Zorph makes it reality I can get this very disturbing image out of my head.
By Liz on 12.13.07 9:32 am
I’m kicking around, but I made the mistake of deciding to clean and try to paint a few rooms at our place. In the process I had to move my computer/electronics lab room, the dining room and the living room. Through out the whole process I have had to sort through and uncluttered the place. I turned into a much bigger job than I had anticipated. I have to keep my wife happy (she’s actually thrilled, but wants her living room and dining back). So in the in term I have had to work off of my PPC/cell phone and a ASUS-Tek laptop. While there are fine for email/ browsing the web and the occasional word document, they are woefully underpowered for doing IT work and computer graphics.
I have been working like a dog every evening to finish this ~cough~ minor job I started and should hopefully have my Comp/Elec Lab up and running by tomorrow (will still be running on wireless connection until I drop a couple new Giga-Bit hard lines to my new office location in the house)
As soon as I have my systems up and running I have a one project for Garth that has to be done ASAP.
By Betty White on 12.13.07 11:26 am
And when did we, of the culture of defeat, suddenly become worthy?
Cherry picker. Are you Cheeky Pete’s mother?
By Greg on 12.13.07 1:08 pm
Just what did I cherry Pick, Mr Pit? Come on smarty, please tell me.
Are you one of the culture of defeat? Well I’m Not.
I’d say this editorial cartoon is entirely fitting/appropriate given that as it turns out the “experts” Harper used to justify his claims of nuclear safety at Chalk River over that of the regulator whom he accused of acting as a Liberal partisan hack out to make his government look bad with this shutdown regardless of how it affected Canadian lives/health turned out to be someone who was once an executive at the company that was non-compliant (AECL) and the other expert just happens to be a riding executive of one of his cabinet ministers. Sure, no appearance let alone actual conflicts of interest there nor any possible concerns about using the opinion of someone with far more obvious clear and stronger partisan political connections (riding exec) than the chair of the regulator to override that regulator plus someone that has a financial interest in the well being of AECL.
The more this is examined the more it becomes clear that Harper is acting purely in political damage control mode placing that above nuclear safety and willing to risk nuclear reactor failure rather than take the heat his government was talking regarding the isotope shortage the shutdown had caused. While yes the odds are good that nothing will happen during that 120 days, there is a major difference between saying the risk is low and that there is no risk, which was what Harper claimed in the House and that his “experts” told him. I have a real hard time believing that nuclear engineers (indeed any engineers for that matter) would ever state there is no risk where nuclear reactors are concerned, especially when they are not fully up to code/spec as required by nuclear safety regulations. Harper is clearly either being badly advised or is lying about what they told him for him to make this statement of no danger at all and that there is no risk of a nuclear accident at this reactor despite/given the clear evidence that disproves that (low risk is not no risk I remind CPC/Harper defenders) claim.
At first my outrage was at Harper for making a new low in the smear politics he was willing to play as well his inability to accept responsibility for anything that goes wrong under his government’s watch, it is always the Liberals fault or outside forces’ fault, it is never because the Harper CPC is as fault. However, the more I look into the details surrounding this issue the more it looks like Harper is setting a dangerous precedent of overriding the regulator purely for political damage control and not based on sound science nor sound safety engineering practices. That is a very serious matter/issue/concern, and the fact that he decried a Liberal partisan hack making this decision (the regulator the Libs appointed and Harper reconfirmed once he came to power, funny how Harper forgets to mention that) while using a former executive of the non-compliant company (who would have a financial interest based on retirement holdings he no doubt has, or his pension from the company) and a riding executive for one of his ministers, the definition of partisan hack, even if he is qualified in the field overall shows who is truly relying on a partisan hack to back his argument/claim. Not to mention his willingness to smear/lie and project his own actual sins upon his opponents, something sadly typical of the modern/new Conservatives.
How is it that the only experts this government could come up with have clear conflicts of interests in this matter, one financial the other political? Is Canada so short on nuclear safety engineers that these are the only ones they could turn up? If one takes what Minister Lunn said the other day in QP at face value, what are the odds that his deputy minister with no political interference/direction could somehow manage to find these two and recommend them as the best available from the overall pool of experts in this country? This is clearly a case of the PM using a political ally plus someone with a clear conflict of interest (financial and prior connection to noncompliant company) so as to make this claim of safety to reopen the plant, and given how he shamefully lied/smeared the regulatory chair and the Liberals for defending the regulator doing exactly what her job required of her when he called the regulatory chairperson a the Libs partisan hack this is particularly odious, even by the standards of hypocrisy this government has shown itself to practice.
There can be no defence for all of this, especially when one considers just how important this issue is. The fact that the government was able to railroad the other parties into supporting them on this by using the “expert testimony†of these “unbiased†witnesses, especially on the same day they launched their smear (and then only after the legislation comes out does anyone find out that the expert relied upon that did not have the questionable links to AECL turned out to be that riding exec for a CPC minister) makes it clear to anyone not blinded by partisan blinders that this government clearly placed its own partisan political concerns above the safety of Canadians both immediately with Chalk River itself (as well as misleading Canadians about the risk threat, as I keep saying low/little risk is not the same as no risk which is what Harper bluntly stated) but also in setting this precedent overriding the nuclear safety regulator, especially when it turns out it was done purely to save political face for the government as the primary consideration.
This is the so called leadership Harper/CPC defenders have been trumpeting about the past couple of days. Leadership like this will be the death of Canada as a nation, and the sooner this kind of leadership is shown the door the better for all Canadians, even that of many of the CPC supporters that do not realize yet just how much they will end up being shafted to suit the needs of the elites that Straussians like Harper feel are the only ones that deserve any consideration in terms of government policy.
Again, like yesterday this will be my only post for today on this, not from lack of interest but from offline matters to deal with. Turns out I have to spend a second day back out with my parents instead of just today. Thankfully I had to come back home to pick up a few things since when I left yesterday I thought I was coming home this afternoon. Well, until I return I hope I have provided enough material in here for others to consider/discuss. This is a very serious issue and the more that comes to life regarding the actions of the Harper government on this the more serious it looks as a very real non-partisan concern for all Canadians regarding nuclear safety and this government’s willingness to roll the dice rather than take the political heat while AECL finally brings its reactor up to safety code which they had been in breech of for over a year by the regulator whose job and responsibility is first and foremost the safe operation of nuclear reactors in this country on behalf of all Canadian citizens and not the political exposure of a sitting government nor that of a business, especially one that has a bad record of failing to stay within the required safety requirements as required by their operating permit.
This is very serious stuff folks, please try to treat it as such instead of just another partisan football, when we stop taking nuclear safety issues as a non-partisan concern then IMHO we have gone way too far down the road of partisanship above civic duty/responsibility. I will say this, if this situation had happened this way under a Liberal government and they had done as this CPC government did I would be just as angered, offended, and disgusted by it, anyone that places partisanship of nuclear safety is in my books an ass. Nuclear issues are too serious to treat any other way, period.
You people are disgusting in your despicable mockery of Canada’s Prime Minister.
People worldwide are depending on Canada’s supply of medical isotopes for deadly diseases, and you take the low road of ridicule to save your disingenuous and crass political positions.
I hope we have an election this Spring-Summer so Canadians can judge for themselves with their votes.
Why does Dion abstain and deny Canadians the opportunity to vote .. and then caves on issues of principle that he proclaims are Liberal values..??
Disgusting is putting it mildly ..!!!
By Harry S on 12.13.07 2:41 pm
You know Harry, I’ll put my money on my Engineering at AECL for their informed, educated and years of experience before I take Homer j. Harper’s opinion. I’m funny that way when it comes to running a nuclear reactor, I choose to listen to an Engineer with 20 years of experiences rather than Political/Economists (with zero real world experience) [aka Homer J. Harper].
Anyhoo Harry, I really hope you get your wish about that election, It’s my wish too!
By Betty White on 12.13.07 3:10 pm
Umm.. don’t you understand anything?
I’m not going to bother explaining to you the simplicity of what I posted earlier. Figure it out. You will be a better person for it.
Are you Cheeky Pete’s mother?
Garth,
That is too funny. Nearly peed myself laughing.
Gord
By Gord on 12.13.07 8:49 am
Somebody is posting under my name. Last time I saw this remark was in a posting by Leasa.
In any event, while I know it is common among women, I have never, ever, heard of a man peeing himself by laughing.
Looks as though Leasa is getting desperate. Sneaky, isn’t she?
Nice try.
Gord
By Scotian on 12.13.07 3:14 pm
I will say this, if this situation had happened this way under a Liberal government and they had done as this CPC government did I would be just as angered, offended, and disgusted by it, anyone that places partisanship of nuclear safety is in my books an ass. Nuclear issues are too serious to treat any other way, period.
……………………………….
You, Scotian, must be very very “angered, offended, and disgusted” at the Liberal opposition for caving in and supporting the Harper legislation.
Your Liberals may be even more culpable of “partisanship” than the Conservatives, by voting with the government on this crucial issue. They prefer to save their crass political arses which you conveniently ignore.
Why have your Liberals abandoned Canada and Canadians, and overtly neglected their “civic duty/responsibility” .. again ..??
They’re creepy and they’re kooky
Mysterious and spooky
They’re all together ooky
The Conservative Party
So just because AECL and NDS Nordion managed to hold us all hostage Harper gets to pull Larry and Curly out of his ass and call them independant experts?
I don’t think so, Mo.
Obviously, the intelligent one is on the right!
I can’t help thinking The Crocodile would have made a few phone calls, figured out the biggest crisis anyone was facing was the AECL board watching the rest of the world learn to live without them, and told Mr. Burns to get lost.
Garth,
That is too funny. Nearly peed myself laughing.
Gord
By Gord on 12.13.07 8:49 am
Not my post. It would appear that somebody is posting under my name.
The last time I saw those words was in a posting by Leasa. While I know it is common among women, I have never,ever, heard of a man peeing himself by laughing.
Am I getting to you Leasa?
Nice try.
With warmest regards,
Gord
Surely with all the Nuclear facilities in North America we can find a safe one to provide isotopes. I can’t believe our entire medical profession relies on Chalk River. What about Pickering, to name one other Reactor in Ontario? No isotopes available from there?
Betty White – I hope you and the Atlantic folks are prepared to thank Bill Casey’s pressure for whatever Harper gave in to. Without Casey it woudn’t have happened – and Harper should thank him as well.
Cartoons and a little fun are part of political life – Harper says he can take a punch. Afterall, he’s the leader of put downs.
You people are disgusting in your despicable mockery of Canada’s Prime Minister. By Harry S on 12.13.07 2:41 pm
Harry, you may have a point there but its just as disgusting of you people making despicable mockery of the Honorable Stephane Dion, Opposition Party & soon to be next Prime Minister Of Canada. BTW, at least Dion is truthful & has class.
Have a good evening.
Cheers
I have never,ever, heard of a man peeing himself by laughing.
With warmest regards,
Gord
By Gord on 12.13.07 4:15 pm
Well, Gord, it Depends! LMAO!
Dear CPC:
Huff and puff
Brag and boast
but as we know
empty wagons rattle
the most
By Bill-Muskoka on 12.13.07 10:41 pm
Bill,
Now THAT’s funny. Do you think Leasa is laughing?
Gord
Today Michael Ignatieff suggested that the Auditor General investigate this whole AECL / MDS Nordion / isotope affair. I’m with him on that 100%. The reactor should have stayed down one more week to complete repairs, and in my view all MPs made a mistake. An assortment of related thoughts and considerations:
♦ – Today Harper was again demonstrating his puerile nature and faulty judgement under fire by yet again attacking the one person with any credibility in this whole affair, the only person who did her job, Linda Keen. Here is a man who when caught with his failings will not own up to them, rather will stoop so low as to attack the one person whose sole interest is our safety, then go further by trying to tie a Liberal-partisan string to it. Fortunately, those who know her say Ms. Keen’s a fighter:
http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20071213_094940_9248
♦ – Like Ford and it’s “Quality is Job 1” slogan, the spokesman for the Chalk River facility tells parliament that Safety is Number 1. In the Spring of 2006, the Nuclear Safety Commission first raised concerns about the reactor’s safety when its licence came up for renewal. It granted a new licence to AECL on condition that it would complete seven safety upgrades. On November 19, 2007, commission inspectors discovered that one of the upgrades – the connection of two cooling pumps to a backup power supply – had not been carried out as promised. If safety is number 1, as purported, then why did this occur?
♦ – On “As It Happens” last night, Dr. Alan Kuperman, Senior Policy Analyst for the Nuclear Control Institute in Washington is interviewed (can listen here, runs for 8 minutes starting at 45 second mark). Among other things, he asserts:
• Credibility of regulator is much higher than AECL.
• There is an arrangement between all of the major suppliers of isotopes in the world – in the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, South Africa – that if one facility goes down, the others will increase production to make up the difference. In fact they brag about the ability to smooth over such supply interruptions, as happened during a recent shutdown at Chalk River caused by labour disputes.
• The cause of the shortage has largely been one of economics. AECL and MDS Nordion have engineered this crisis as a consequence of not wanting to pay premium prices for external supplies.
• There is almost no reporting of supply interruptions in the US. If such an override of the regulator occurred in the US, there would be an outcry against not maintaining proper arms-length governance.
♦ – MDS Nordion obliquely admits to financial considerations with respect to the need to restart now.
♦ – The emergency backup systems are meant to supply power to the pumps in case of all emergencies: earthquake, flood, fire, tornado:
• I’ve said enough in previous threads with respect to earthquakes, and would only like to point out that in February 2006 an earthquake struck the Ottawa Valley with sufficient force to produce a loud explosive sound, but did not cause any reported structural damage.
• While I do not think it is likely that Chalk River would be subjected to flood, a fair sized dam spanning the Ottawa River does exist a mere 21 km. upstream.
http://www.opg.com/power/hydro/ottawa_st_lawrence/des_joachims.asp
• The possibility of fire needs no further explanation.
• With it being winter, it is the wrong time of year to consider tornadoes to be an issue, but in the longer term they cannot be ignored. Renfrew County has the highest incidences of tornadoes in all of Eastern Ontario, experiencing about 1 per year. In 2006, there were two incidents in the region, one spreading damage along Highway 17 from Deep River to Mattawa, with broken trees everywhere, the other to the west in Combermere two weeks later. This link illustrates the frequency of tornado events in the region:
http://www.ontarioweather.com/specials/database/images/eontario.gif
♦ – On October 31, 2006 the Honourable Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, announced the appointment of Mr. Burns as Chair of the Board of Directors of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). Mr. Burns, eh? First name wouldn’t be Montgomery, would it? I believe that was the first step in what is called karma.
Seems like manufacturing those radioactive isotopes is much more complicated that what it first appears:
Is this what is at the heart of the Chalk River dilemma?
http://www.nben.ca/environews/alerts/alert_archives/07/tellyourrep_a.htm
As well as delays in being able to convert the Maple reactors from high grade to low grade fuel:
http://www.energyprobe.org/energyprobe/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=4353
The advanced-design Maple Reactors were suppose to replace the aging Chalk River CANDU reactor. The owner, MDS Nordion, of these plants is between a rock and hard place. They can’t get licenses for these reactors based on more than one factor. Unravelling the obstacles has proven so far to be next to impossible.
Uupdated story from The Star outlining the problems the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), the regulatory agency, not being able to license them because of the defect with the design of the maple reactors, and the spot, MDS Nordian, the owners of the reactors, and AECL who operate the reactors find themselves in:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071207.isotopes-side08/BNStory/Front
Am I getting to you Leasa?
Nice try.
With warmest regards,
Gord
By Gord on 12.13.07 4:15 pm
Warmest? LOL Sorry, Gord but no, you are not ‘getting to me’. Garth can tell you I didn’t make the post. But, it was funny.
Do you want to ‘get to me’, Gord? You can try, try hard as you can, but you can’t catch me cause I’m the Gingerbread …. woman! ha ha ha
XO Leasa
Nice letter out of Sparky to Frasier, Garth, but its missing a few things…
- When the PM and two Ministers stood in the house and declared a medical emergency had they properly considered there are other reactors in the world that could have stepped up production?
- Was Cabinet even aware there were alternate sources available
- Was International Affairs asked if any action was needed to allow for import of the isotope from other sources to the MDS facility?
Considering an act of Parliament has contradicted its own previous legislation to push this through, I think a call for post-mortem to the Solicitor General is in order (which lets Sparky off the hook).
or whoever it is that vets due diligence on the part of government. committee, perhaps?
By Emilie on 12.13.07 12:42 pm
So?
By Betty White on 12.13.07 1:16 pm
So “that” is what all your polls and statistics mean.
Verrrrrrrry interesting…………
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…………
Interesting…
http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/media/newsreleases/2007/CNSCletter.pdf
They WERE looking into alternate suppliers.
I wanna see the paperwork.
my my
– S Keen
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=801899
she’s good.
heel, Sparky, heel ;o)
May nailed it pretty quick about the falling on his sword thing. Ministerial Accountability comes to mind.