Bill C-20, the proposed legislation to replace the Nuclear Liability Act, has cleared another hurdle in the legislative process with the following key amendments proposed by the standing committee after review:
1. The Minister of Natural Resources must review the $650 million limitation on operator liability on a regular basis, and at least once every five years.
2. The Minister of Natural Resources must hold public consultations which include participation of both industry and non-industry stakeholders and any parliamentary committee that may be designated or established to review matters relating to the nuclear energy.
3. Nuclear operators must provide financial security for its $650 million liability obligation and this financial security must to be in the form of insurance with an approved insurer. Given that obtaining such coverage is unlikely, the Minister can enter into an agreement with an approved insurer under which Her Majesty in right of Canada reinsures some or all of the risk assumed by the insurer under the insurance required to form part of the financial security that an operator is required to maintain in connection with its liability limit.
4. The Governor in Council must establish a nuclear claims tribunal as soon as possible after its declaration that a tribunal is required to administer the claims from a nuclear incident which tribunal must notify the public, in a manner that it considers appropriate, of the details of the tribunal’s purpose and the means by which the public can obtain information on bringing forward a claim.
No comments:
Post a Comment