Former Sask. Party MLA Dustin Duncan is hoping to raise the profile of nuclear energy in Saskatchewan as part of his new role as an advocate for Canadian nuclear technology. Last week, it was announced that Duncan had been named a co-chair as part of Canadians for CANDU. The advocacy group emphasizes Canadian sovereignty and ownership in nuclear technology such as the Canada deuterium uranium (CANDU) pressurized heavy-water reactor design, which generates electric power. “[The work] really involves engaging with the broader community in Saskatchewan, with communities and business organizations, community organizations, Indigenous communities around the province and likely a little bit outside the province,” Duncan told Your Morning Saskatchewan Monday. “But really, it’s focused on Saskatchewan to raise the awareness within the province about — first and foremost — the need for nuclear power. The world has said that we are going to triple our use of nuclear energy by 2050, and Canada and Saskatchewan can and should play a role in that.” Duncan added it was also about promoting the benefits of CANDU technology versus other tech that might be on the market. The former MLA joins former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and former Ontario Premier Mike Harris as part of the organization. Duncan said he was recruited by former Ontario energy minister Todd Smith, who he had previously met while serving as Saskatchewan’s energy minister. ‘Very good safety record’ The former minister responsible for SaskPower also assured the public of the technology’s safety. “We have a very good track record within Canada … we have 17 reactors in Canada that are operating. These are CANDU technology that we own and operate and rely on Canadian Saskatchewan uranium,” Duncan said. “We’re going through a process with the CANDU reactors in Ontario that are being refurbished on time and under budget, which is always good news. And so, we have a lot of experience in this country in working in the nuclear space and have a very good safety record.” Duncan added the newer technologies have strong safety ratings. “I think that people can be really confident. This is technology that’s been used for decades in this country and around the world and have a very excellent safety standard,” he said. Canadian sovereignty Duncan said CANDU uses raw uranium as a fuel source. Saskatchewan has some of largest high-grade deposits in the world, which makes the global push for nuclear energy more beneficial to Saskatchewan. He also said this is where technology like CANDU comes into place in advancing Canadian sovereignty. “We don’t have to enrich uranium like other technologies have to do. Enrichment takes places in places like Russia and China and France and the U.S.,” he said. “The Canadian CANDU technology — why it stands out is that we don’t have to send uranium to other jurisdictions and then hope they send it back after they enrich it. This is just using the natural uranium as the fuel source.”
