Chalk one up for the bad guys

The daunting mishandling of the nuclear safety by the Harper government

DEAN JENSEN, VOLUNTEER STAFF

I’m sure by now you’ve all heard the kafuffle going down over this Chalk River nuclear reactor business. In brief, the reactor in question was shut down in November 2007 due to overwhelming safety concerns on the part of Linda Keen, president of government-appointed watchdog group, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Shortly thereafter, the federal government fast-tracked a bill to reopen the reactor in the face of “a major shortage” worldwide for medical isotopes used in diagnostic scanning, despite the danger involved with restarting the reactor.

This move has drawn major criticism both nationally (from opposition party members such as Michael Ignatieff) as well as internationally. Most recently, the British journal New Scientist published an editorial calling the move “bizarre,” claiming that Canada is “sending out a dangerous message over nuclear safeguards.” John Large, a nuclear expert and consultant in Britain who authored the editorial, said that the federal government’s decision to reopen the reactor was “outrageous.”

“How can anyone have confidence in Canada’s nuclear safety when the prime minister personally . . . relies on the advice of partisan hacks?” asks Liberal MP Omar Alhambra. Indeed.

What, really, is the problem? Somebody (accredited internationally) claims the reactor is unsafe. The government says big deal, the chances of something going sour are minimal. Why not reopen the reactor, we need these isotopes for international medical research, and people are willing to pay big bucks for the little buggers? No harm, right?

For years, I worked in a kitchen, standards of cleanliness and method of operation of which fell far below what I (and an un-crooked health inspector) would deem reasonable. Every summer, the balding, red-faced geek representing Manitoba’s health department would amble into the restaurant, through the kitchen, the restaurant, and then the bar downstairs, making notes on his scuffed aluminum clipboard. Over the years, a handful of his noted infractions included: open beer bottles on the cooking line, improperly stored and cooled sauces, swarms of flies, inappropriate hair restraint, malfunctioning dishwasher, cooler, and freezer; incredibly unsanitary carpet and washrooms and, to top it all off, dead mice in the bar. Luckily, he never discovered our squirrel infestation or caught anyone doing lines off the stainless steel counter tops over lunch rush.

After these inspections, our boss, a bald young man of 30 or so, would take a stroll with the inspector out into the outdoor empties shed, where they would chat a while. Then, the health geek and the boss would come back inside, smiling, and shaking hands. We would receive our yearly “recommendations for improvement,” and business would continue (booming for the summer season) as usual.

Now, an industrial kitchen is different from an industrial nuclear reactor, but essentially only in scale. The kitchen exists to provide individual human beings with energy and goods (in the form of food) at a price guaranteed to create profits for the provider. On the other hand, the nuclear reactor exists to provide energy and goods (in this case, electrical and in the form of those sought-after isotopes) to mass groups of humans, at a price guaranteed to create profits for the provider. The regulatory bodies in charge of ensuring that these goods-and-services providers require a level of professionalism and adherence to agreed-upon standards (international safety standards) so as not to endanger the public.

When the Harper government decided to fire Linda Keen because she did not do what the Harper government wanted her to, they (once again) clearly demonstrated their disregard for the public or our safety and that the only thing these power-drunk douche bags believe in is greed.

Had Linda Keen gone forward with the government’s desires to keep the unsafe plant operating for sheer economic and political motivations, she would have been implicit in endangering not only the safety of Canadians but also of our unruly neighbours to the South. And had something gone drastically wrong, it would have been her head that fell when public outcry rang out for one, and certainly not the faceless money grubbing swine who axed her job for not toeing their party line.

Linda Keen proved herself more than worthy of her position. I cannot say the same for anyone involved, to my knowledge, with the present federal (minority) government, who are no better than any red-faced, kickback hungry health inspector who repeatedly turns a blind eye on public health infractions.

The worst that came out of that scenario (the one involving pizzas) were hundreds (if not thousands) of poor premium-priced meals and maybe the not-so-odd case of the shits. If Linda had let slide this Chalk River business for a quick buck (in form of a raise, perhaps) and had something gone terribly afoul, I can tell you the fall out would be a hell of a lot uglier and the repercussions far more foul.

Dean Jensen no longer works in the food service industry.