Senate fast-tracks passage of isotope bill

The Liberal-dominated Senate ensured swift passage of a bill Wednesday night to get an Ontario nuclear reactor back online quickly.

'This providessignificant risk not only to the reactor, but to employees and communities that live around this reactor.' — Linda Keen, president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

"We intend to make the process fast and make sure that the bill is in place as soon as possible," Liberal Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette said earlier Wednesday on her way into her party's weekly caucus meeting.

The House of Commons approved legislation late Tuesdaythat will allow therestart ofthe 50-year-old Chalk River nuclear facility, which shut down for maintenance last month and has been out of operation since, causing a critical shortage of medical isotopes.

The Ontario reactor produces roughly two-thirds of the nuclear material used around the worldto doscans and imaging tests that diagnose cancers andheart conditions and examine fractures.

All political parties agreed to the Conservatives' bill, whichwill effectively suspend the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's oversight role for 120 days, but questions still flew at the Conservatives.

Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who had been indignant about the bill, conceded that his party "did its duty last night" by choosing Canadians' immediate health concerns over the advice of Canada's nuclear safety watchdog to keep the site offline.

"Will the minister of health guarantee that Canadian patients will be the first to benefit from the isotopes that are produced before the international markets are supplied?" he asked in the House.

Health Minister Tony Clement said Canadian medical clinics will be the first in line.

'Incompetence of the Conservative government'

While the Liberals approved the bill, they made it clear on Wednesday they were forced into making an unpalatable choice by the Conservatives.

"The House of Commons reluctantly passed an unprecedented law to cover for the incompetence of the Conservative government," Liberal MP Omar Alghabra charged.

Bypassing the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which found safety concerns at Chalk River, creates a dangerous precedent, said Linda Keen,president of the nuclear watchdog.

"This providessignificant risk not only to the reactor but to employees and communities that live around this reactor,"she told legislators.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper suggested earlier that the Liberals were deliberately blocking the bill becauseKeen was appointed by the Liberals.

The Senate gave final passage to the bill late Wednesday.

The Chalk River reactor, which produces the isotopes, was originally scheduled to be shut down for a week for maintenance.

The nuclear safety commission refused to allow it to restart production untilthe operatorsresolved a host of safety issues.

Radioisotopes can't be stockpiled because they have a short shelf life.