The Liberal government is being accused of sending conflicting messages about the nuclear industry and how it can help adapt to a green environment. The week the Liberal government put $27.2 million into a promising new small modular nuclear reactor — but at the same time its green bond program, meant to boost environmentally-friendly programs, specifically excludes investments in nuclear power.
The conflict shows mixed support at best for the industry, say critics. Chris Keefer, president of Canadians for Nuclear Energy, said excluding nuclear from green bonds did not make sense, because Ontario had shown it could help decarbonize a grid.
“We need to invest in the biggest bang for decarbonization, but we don’t have much time. We have limited resources and so we need to invest in what works,” he said. “These decisions need to be made based on that science and I think the Liberals think of themselves as a party of science.”
On Thursday, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced a $27.2 million investment in Westinghouse Electric in Burlington, Ont. The funding will help Westinghouse with its small modular reactor named the eVinci micro-reactor, a $57 million project.
For the rest of this article: https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/is-nuclear-energy-green-or-not-federal-government-sending-conflicting-messages-critics-say