Canada's own Nuclear Whistleblower?

Nuclear safety watchdog head fired for 'lack of leadership': minister
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 5:26 AM ET
CBC News

Excerpts:

Federal Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said Wednesday that he fired the head of the nuclear safety watchdog for her "lack of leadership" in handling the shutdown of a medical isotope-producing nuclear reactor late last year.

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission president Linda Keen was fired hours before she and Lunn were set to appear before a natural resources committee meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday.

Keen was fired days after she publicly accused Lunn of interfering with the independence of the arm's-length watchdog.

In a Dec. 27 letter to Keen leaked to the Ottawa Citizen, Lunn questioned her judgment for recommending the reactor be shut down and informed her he was considering having her removed from the post.

Keen responded with an eight-page letter accusing Lunn of improper interference and threatening to fight in court any attempt to remove her from her job. She also said she had asked the privacy commissioner and the RCMP to investigate how Lunn's letter was leaked to the media.

The Chalk River reactor generates two-thirds of the radioisotopes used around the world in medical procedures and tests. It was shut down on Nov. 18 because of safety concerns.

A ministerial directive on Dec. 10 ordered the CNSC to reopen the site. The agency refused, insisting a backup safety system be installed to prevent the risk of a meltdown during an earthquake or other disaster.

On Dec. 11, an emergency measure passed through the House of Commons overturning the watchdog's decision, and the reactor was restarted for a 120-day run on Dec. 16.
The Conservative government has blamed the commission's intransigence for creating the crisis. And Prime Minister Stephen Harper pointed a finger directly at Keen, a career bureaucrat whom he referred to as a Liberal appointee.

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Classic bullying tactics against whistleblowers. Do what you're told or we will destroy you and your personal and professional reputation and we'll do it publically. I'm quite okay with someone erring on the side of caution where the potential exists for NUCLEAR MELTDOWNS related to safety and emergency concerns and I like to think most Canadians would be too.