DPR 2004-2005
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Summary Information

Mission and Vision

It is the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) mission to regulate the use of nuclear energy and materials to protect health, safety, security, and the environment and to respect Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy . In pursuing its mission, the CNSC ¹ is working toward its vision of becoming one of the best nuclear regulators in the world.

To realize its vision, the CNSC is committed to:

• An effective of its regulatory regime;
• A high level of transparency;
• Attraction and retention of excellent staff; and
• An efficient regulatory regime.

To assess the achievement of this vision, the CNSC participates in domestic and international regulatory fora, benchmarks its activities against other domestic and international regulators by sharing and adopting best practices in a global context and meets the principles of Smart Regulation. The CNSC is responsible to the public, through Parliament, for assuring that these responsibilities are properly discharged.

¹ Note: The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is referred to as the “CNSC” when referring to the organization and its staff in general, and as the “Commission” when referring to the tribunal component.

Regulatory Policy and Program Delivery

The CNSC’s Regulatory Fundamentals Policy (P-299), which was adopted in January 2005 by the Commission, is consistent with the principles of good governance and the Government of Canada’s Smart Regulation initiative. It states that persons and organizations subject to the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA) and regulations are directly responsible for managing regulated activities in a manner that protects health, safety, security, and the environment, while respecting Canada’s international obligations.

The CNSC regulates the use of nuclear energy and nuclear materials in Canada. Its regulations apply to the following areas:

• Nuclear power reactors
• Non-power reactors
• Nuclear substances and radiation devices used in areas such as health care and research
• Nuclear fuel cycle from uranium mining through to waste management
• Imports and exports of controlled nuclear materials, dual-use materials, equipment and technology

The CNSC is a departmental corporation under Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act and a separate employer under the authority of the Public Service Staff Relations Act . The CNSC is an independent federal regulatory agency and a quasi-judicial administrative tribunal. To serve Canadians, the ultimate outcome of the CNSC is safe and secure nuclear installations and processes solely for peaceful purposes; and public confidence in the nuclear regulatory regime’s effectiveness. Consistent with the Government Canada’s Smart Regulation principles, the CNSC engages in extensive consultation and communication to ensure that information is clearly understood and accepted by stakeholders, including licensees.

The CNSC is an independent agency of the Canadian Government. The person responsible for the CNSC is the President and CEO. Reports are submitted to the Minister as part of the CNSC’s accountability to Parliament, because only Ministers have standing to table reports in Parliament. CNSC is able to maintain an arm’s length relationship with government when making legally-binding regulatory decisions.

The CNSC is not an advocate of nuclear science or technology. Rather, its mandate and responsibility is to regulate users of nuclear energy or materials to ensure their operations will not pose unreasonable risks to Canadians. Canadians are the sole clients of the CNSC.

The CNSC’s operations are funded through an annual appropriation from Parliament. The CNSC’s workload and therefore its resource requirements are largely driven by the level of demand for licensing and oversight and by the nature of Canada’s international commitments. Most costs incurred for the CNSC’s regulatory activities are recovered by the federal government from licensees under the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Cost Recovery Fees Regulations (2003).

The CNSC expects to recover approximately 70 percent of its total cost of operations from fee-paying licensees. Fees are collected by the CNSC and deposited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. Fees are not a source of revenue for the CNSC or for its use without Parliamentary authority. External charging information for the CNSC’s Cost Recovery Program is available in Table 7-A .

Some licensees, such as hospitals and universities, are exempted by the Government of Canada from paying fees, which account for approximately 10 percent of total CNSC operational costs. In addition, these licensees’ fees are not chargeable for activities that result from CNSC obligations that do not provide a direct benefit to identifiable licensees. This includes activities with respect to Canada’s international obligations, including the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, public responsibilities such as emergency preparedness and public information programs, and maintenance of the NSCA and associated regulations. This work amounts to approximately 20 percent of the CNSC’s program costs.

The CNSC also administers the Nuclear Liability Act (NLA). It designates nuclear installations and sets the nuclear insurance requirements to be carried by the operators of such nuclear installations. The CNSC receives premiums paid by the operators for supplementary insurance coverage and credits these premiums to the Nuclear Liability Reinsurance Account in the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The NLA is currently undergoing review, which could change the role of the CNSC.

The CNSC and Results for Canadians

The CNSC is a key contributor to the Government of Canada’s outcomes, which are the long-term and enduring benefits to Canadians that federal departments and agencies are working to achieve. The CNSC contributes directly to assuring the health of Canadians, to the protection of the environment and to the protection of Canadian society from potentially harmful effects of nuclear materials, substances and processes.

The CNSC also plays a significant role in bringing Canada’s expertise and perspective to the international arena regarding the safety and security of nuclear materials and technology, in matters such as possession, use, transport and international transfer of high-risk radioactive sources, radiation protection, international safety approaches for research reactors and global safeguards concepts and approaches used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As a well-established, independent, world-class regulator covering the full nuclear cycle, the CNSC’s expertise is sought regularly by countries throughout the world and by international agencies such as the IAEA. The CNSC is the Canadian lead on many international Conventions, and serves as the focal point to prepare, deliver and monitor Canadian compliance with these undertakings.

CNSC Challenges and Risks

In 2004-2005, it came clear that the CNSC’s operating context was becoming increasingly complex. The Canadian nuclear industry has experienced significant growth in all segments of the nuclear cycle and in virtually all areas where nuclear substances are used for industrial, medical or other purposes. There is unprecedented demand across most nuclear sectors for regulatory decisions and oversight. At the same time, threats and challenges to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime are substantial. Some of the challenges the CNSC faced in 2004-2005 are outlined as follows:

CNSC 2004-2005 Performance Summary

The CNSC has established a strategic framework for planning, monitoring and reporting (see CNSC Logic Model ). Plans for future years are articulated in our annual Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) at http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca . The plans for this reporting year were outlined in the 2004-2005 RPP ( http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/20052006/cnsc-ccsn/cnsc-ccsnr56_e.asp ).

The CNSC’s strategic framework has the following five immediate outcomes:

1. A clear and pragmatic regulatory framework
2. Individuals and organizations that operate safely and conform to safeguards and non-proliferation requirements
3. High levels of compliance with the regulatory framework
4. CNSC cooperates and integrates its activities in national/international nuclear fora
5. Stakeholders’ understanding of the regulatory program

Underlying the CNSC’s strategic framework is its management and enabling infrastructure. This infrastructure consists of management, human resources, finance, information services and infrastructure programs that enable the CNSC to perform the activities required and meet the requirements of good governance with a high level of accountability.

For 2004-2005, the CNSC planned its expenditures for each immediate outcome. The 2004-2005 plan incorporated the CNSC’s logic model for the first time. The following table shows a comparison of actual expenditures incurred against planned spending.

The table below indicates the status of planned activities as set out in the CNSC’s RPP 2004-2005. More details concerning these activities can be found on the relevant section of this report, where indicated, or by contacting the CNSC.