Raitt drops an unintentional bomb

In a news conference on May 29, 2008, before the so-called sexy talk, Lisa Raitt, Minister of Things-that-glow, was asked about the privatization of AECL.  While confirming that the sale is progressing, she had no real comment on whether any buyer would share the AECL debt or liability  should something happen after the sale -- like, say, a melt-down.  Her answer was, essentially, "I think that our negotiators will look at that."

But the real bomb dropped a bit later.When asked what type of oversight will exist when a sale is made, Raitt replied that the major oversight will come from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.  She stated that the CNSC is the oversight regulator that is independent of government.

What?

Can she be referring to the same CNSC that had its head fired by Harper because she wouldn't do his bidding?

How can the CNSC be called independent and charged with the responsibility to protect Canadians, when the government can fire its ass?

What if the CNSC says to Harper and Raitt, that they cannot sell AECL unless the buyer accepted all risks and had to post a $2 billion bond to cover the eventualities of that risk.  How long would the independent CNSC be around?

Think the bond is unreasonable.  The US government demands that the nuclear industry invest $10 billion into a fund to cover risk.  We do here in Canada also, but the limit is only $650 million.