Thank you very much. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here today at this very important hearing on Bill C-69, another budget implementation bill.

As stated, my name is George Christidis. I am vice-president of government relations and international affairs at the Canadian Nuclear Association.

I'd like to begin by acknowledging that we are on unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin first nation.

The Canadian Nuclear Association is a non-profit organization that represents over 100 members from the nuclear industry across Canada. The Canadian nuclear industry employs 76,000 Canadians in highly skilled trades and professional jobs, directly and indirectly. Currently, Canada's CANDU nuclear reactors generate about 15% of Canada's electricity, representing over 60% of the electricity in Ontario and over 30% in New Brunswick. These assets provide clean, reliable, non-emitting baseload power. More and more provinces are increasingly looking at nuclear technologies as part of their electricity needs.

The Canadian nuclear industry is a key employer of first nations communities, particularly in northern Saskatchewan. For instance, the Cameco uranium mining corporation is one of the largest employers of aboriginal peoples. The Canadian nuclear industry is also a major supplier of isotopes, which is key to fighting certain cancers and to other nuclear medicine procedures.

It is clear from an international and domestic perspective that attaining climate and energy security goals will require significantly more nuclear energy, as well as a strengthened nuclear fuel cycle and supply chain capability. The Canadian nuclear industry is a global leader in this regard. The Canadian nuclear industry advantage is based on the successful operation and refurbishment of its CANDU nuclear fleet and the nuclear cycle and supply chain that is necessary for its operation.

This effort to meet climate and energy security goals is really foundational to what the Canadian Nuclear Association's recommendations are. Canada, as a leader in the nuclear industry, is a tier one nuclear nation, with nuclear companies recognized around the world across the supply chain and across nuclear research, such as at the national laboratories at Chalk River or the nuclear waste management initiatives being led by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization and Chalk River nuclear laboratories. Based on that foundation, the recommendation is to strengthen the nuclear industry, and we encourage all parliamentarians to implement quickly the decisions that have been made in the last few budgets.

We've seen a significant increase or inclusion of nuclear power in key foundational policies in Canada and abroad. At COP28, there was a recognition of the need to triple nuclear energy. At Sapporo 5 there was a recognition of leveraging the nuclear industry in Canada and other like-minded countries to meet energy security goals to help delink from Russian energy assets.

We applaud these measures. However, we recommend a timely and strategic approach in implementing and operationalizing the investment tax credits, the clean manufacturing tax credits, and similar initiatives that have been announced. We have to move quickly. There is a competitive bent to it as well, as we see the United States proceeding to implement the Inflation Reduction Act.

I must reiterate that the link between domestic and international initiatives is very important and that energy security, national security and climate initiatives are all interconnected. With that in mind, we recommend that there be an appropriate definition of small modular reactors to enable technologies that are chosen for Ontario and Saskatchewan to be eligible for investment tax credits. The definition should be 1,200 megawatts thermal to ensure that projects are included and can proceed, as well as an operational requirement for modularization that the current technology does not meet.

Making leasehold property models clearly eligible for the investment tax credits is also crucial for any potential partnerships between nuclear utilities and first nations. These financial tools enable nuclear utilities to enter into partnerships with first nations while complying with nuclear licensing requirements. The Canadian Nuclear Association also recommends that the definition of eligible refurbishments and expenditures include all components that enable clean energy assets to continue operations.

We also recommend that uranium be added to the list of qualifying materials and the inclusion of conversion and fuel fabrication in the list of qualifying materials eligible for the clean technology manufacturing tax credit. This is essential to strengthen a key component of the nuclear industry.

Finally, the definitions that will be used for the hydrogen investment tax credit framework need to include nuclear to ensure that Canada does indeed achieve its hydrogen goals.

These recommendations have been presented as a way to strengthen the Canadian nuclear industry, but they are also a means to strengthen Canada's economic, social and environmental credentials and capabilities, which all, again, have a very strong national security and energy security bent.

Thank you very much. I look forward to your questions.