Now that the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) has voted to lift its general ban on nuclear trade with India, western countries are lining up to grab their share of this burgeoning and lucrative civilian nuclear market. What opportunities are there for companies in the Canadian nuclear industry? India has 17 power reactors, 15 of which […]

This week’s Economist urges the countries in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to turn down the U.S. request to waive restrictions against nuclear trade with India. India refuses to sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is officially the main international bulwark against the spread of nuclear weapons. Relaxing the restrictions against nuclear trade with non-signatories—the […]

A Brazilian company quietly announced on July 8 its intention to acquire uranium enrichment technology and thereby become active in the full nuclear fuel cycle. This is something Canada has lobbied hard for over the past few years. The Brazilian announcement increases the diplomatic pressure on the U.S. to resolve the issue as it seeks […]

How far backward can Canada bend to win U.S. approval for its aim to import and own uranium enrichment technology? Pretty far, it seems. The federal government surrendered Canada’s dominant position in the international medical isotope market in May when it

There has been no resolution of the quiet dispute between Canada and the U.S. over whether Canada can import and possess equipment to enrich uranium. This has forced Canada onto the diplomatic high-wire, where it has less than three weeks to balance domestic commercial interests with international non-proliferation efforts

Canada wants to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel, but is on the record as saying it will not import other countries’ spent nuclear fuel. Canada will need permission to realize this arrangement, and that permission must come from the United States.
The U.S. doesn’t mind Canada enriching fuel as long as this doesn’t involve […]

Climate change and nuclear weapons proliferation are the biggest dangers facing humanity. The two issues are inextricably and dramatically linked in the U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal.
In its drive to industrialize, India will need enormous amounts of electricity. As in many other major economies in the world, most of India’s new power will come from two […]

Anyone interested in the communication dynamics of minority parliaments—and political/technical communication in general—should watch for the outcome of negotiations between India’s ruling UPA and its communist coalition partners over the U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal. These negotiations occur as I write this (mid-morning Ottawa time, early evening New Delhi time).
It is a true nail-biter. This deal […]

On February 6, I talked about Canada’s position on whether India should be exempted from Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) rules regarding nuclear trade with countries that are outside of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Exemption could mean de facto recognition of India as a nuclear weapons state—in the same league as the U.S., Russia, China, France, […]

Two months ago, Australia’s anti-Kyoto PM, John Howard, lost that country’s general election. One of the first moves of his successor, Kevin Rudd, was to bring Australia into the Kyoto club.
The pro-Kyoto crowd has applauded this move. From their point of view, anything that gets in George Bush’s face is good. But let’s take a […]