The Kitchener-Waterloo Record
May 17, 1999
Canada’s federal minister responsible for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) said she knows nothing about the agency’s role in promoting CANDU nuclear reactors in Thailand.

If it’s true, there’s something wrong, Diane Marleau said Sunday in a telephone interview from her Ottawa residence.

“I’m certainly going to look into it and find out, because I don’t think it is the proper use of CIDA funds,” Marleau said before flying to Brussels.

Marleau was reacting to a Toronto Star story that refers to an Atomic Energy Board of Canada Ltd. (AECL) report stating CIDA, whose mandate is to provide support to developing countries in projects to reduce poverty, approved and funded a public education program aimed at convincing Thai high-school students of the benefits of nuclear technology.

The program, launched in 1995 and still operating, is part of an overall effort by the Atomic Energy Board to sell Canadian nuclear technology to Thailand, the Star report says.

Promotional videos CIDA is being criticized for the $1 million program, which included promotional videos shown in more than 1,000 Thai schools, and for the apparent non-existence of ethical guidelines in the agency’s funding criteria.

Marleau said she didn’t think CIDA had an ethical review process, and expressed dismay that high-school students were subjected to promotional videos.

“It’s not the usual thing CIDA does. I don’t think (the videos) would be under CIDA’s mandate, frankly.”

Marleau said the agency is involved in projects in developing countries that are “environmentally sound” and include the sharing of good environmental technology through training programs.

She said she can attest to the fact that CANDU reactors are internationally recognized for their safety, although Ontario Hydro had to shut their reactors down because the corporation couldn’t provide the proper maintenance, she said.

Marleau also wondered why a CIDA project, launched in 1995 according to the report, is still running.

“CIDA doesn’t usually fund anything beyond two to three years,” she said.