Remember Mr. Harper fired the head of Nuclear Safety Commission in 2008?
I don’t think that my memory is too hazy on this one. In early 2008, Mr. Harper fired Linda Keen because she, the head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, shut down the nuclear reactor at Chalk River at the end of 2007. It was producing one third of the world’s supply of medical radio-isotope. An inspection by the regulatory staff had found that mandatory safety upgrade had not been implemented. Now the Chalk River nuclear reactor has been forced to shut down. She was right, wasn’t she? And Mr. Harper fired her wrongly. I am surprised that there has been no demand to revisit this wrongful dismissal. I have not seen any press coverage either. Is it a case of collective amnesia?
Last year, Mr. Harper had blamed Ms Keen of causing a global health crisis. He said, “The action of the president of the nuclear commission would have needlessly jeopardized the health care system and the lives of Canadians and people around the world.” However, the current crisis could have been avoided if Ms Keen’s action was fully implemented and the nuclear reactor was properly repaired. It is reported that medical isotope will not be produced in Canada until next spring and Canadian health care system will have to buy it overseas with a lot of expense to tax payers.
Politicians can get away with a lot of things, because they know our memory is short. Maybe we deserve them.