Media Centre Press Releases: For Immediate Release January 8, 2008   Conservatives Using Nuclear Safety Commission Head as Scapegoat OTTAWA - The Conservatives are using Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission President Linda Keen as a scapegoat to cover up their own inept handling of the medical isotope crisis at the Chalk River nuclear facility, Natural Resources Critic Omar Alghabra said today. "Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn has sent a searing letter to Ms. Keen blaming her for his own shortcomings and threatening her dismissal over it - and this after engaging in a public smear campaign against her late last year," said Mr. Alghabra. "This is the same minister who publicly denied knowing about the reactor's problems when the isotope problem emerged, when in fact he was fully aware of the situation for more than a month. Even former Atomic Energy of Canada Chairman Michael Burns said he repeatedly briefed Mr. Lunn on the situation. "But instead of owning up and showing the accountability this government claims as its backbone, Mr. Lunn and other members of his government are using Ms. Keen as the scapegoat. Once again, the Conservatives are showing that there is no level to which they won't stoop to protect their political interests," he said. Mr. Lunn's letter - which is posted on the Commission's website - not only accuses Ms. Keen of inappropriately dealing with the risk management of the situation but also of putting the public's health at risk. "This is one of the most shameless displays of passing the buck I have ever seen in politics," said Mr. Alghabra. "The government should have known about the impending isotope crisis and they should have acted but they didn't - and they need a fall guy to cover up their own incompetence." Mr. Alghabra also pointed to Mr. Lunn's deliberately misleading statement that it was due to Ms. Keen's alleged "failure" that all opposition parties in the House of Commons voted to have the reactor started up. "The Liberal Party didn't vote in favour of this measure because we lacked faith in Ms. Keen and the Commission - and Mr. Lunn full well knows that," he said. "We saw re-starting the reactor as the only option to address the isotope crisis. We made it quite clear at the time that we were not happy with the government putting us in a position of choosing between the health and safety of Canadians all because of their incompetence." Mr. Alghabra said all public servants in this country - who work hard to represent the interests of Canadians - are not safe from this government. "Canadians should be very concerned about such bullying by our federal government, especially when their health and safety is involved," he said.