Media Centre Press Releases: For Immediate Release January 9, 2008 Liberals Call For Minister Lunn to Appear Before Parliamentary Committee OTTAWA - The Liberal Opposition is calling on Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn to return to the Natural Resources committee to explain his actions regarding the Chalk River isotope crisis, particularly his attempts to scapegoat Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission President Linda Keen. Liberals are also asking that Ms. Keen appear before the committee - which is expected to meet early next week - to discuss nuclear safety issues, particularly at the Chalk River nuclear facility. "This matter between the government and the CNSC has clearly turned ugly, and it's time that we hear from both sides of this battle to help clear the air," said Liberal Natural Resources Critic Omar Alghabra. "Canadians have a lot at stake when it comes to both the isotope crisis and nuclear safety, so it's critical that this matter be sorted out so that they can have peace of mind that their elected officials are looking out for their health and safety." Liberal Party members sent a letter to the Committee Clerk, asking that a meeting be convened as soon as possible so that Mr. Lunn and Ms. Keen can explain their positions in this dispute. Mr. Lunn recently sent a scathing letter to Ms. Keen, accusing her of inappropriately dealing with the risk management of the situation and also of putting the public's health at risk. His letter threatens her dismissal. Ms. Keen responded this week with her own letter that claims Mr. Lunn's allegations are "entirely without merit," that he was engaging in "improper interference" with an independent body and she called for a public inquiry or parliamentary review. She also called on the Privacy Commissioner and RCMP to investigate how Mr. Lunn's letter to her was leaked to the media. "With his outrageous response to this crisis of trying to blame Ms. Keen for his own inept handling of this file, we believe Mr. Lunn has plenty to answer for," said Mr. Alghabra. "It's interesting that, as Ms. Keen points out in her letter, Mr. Lunn is suddenly playing schoolyard bully with his threats of dismissal, when he made a point of stressing in the House of Commons last month that the commission was 'absolutely independent of government.' "Clearly, Mr. Lunn must explain himself on many fronts with regards to this situation. We know that he knew about the Chalk River nuclear reactor's problems for more than a month before the isotope crisis emerged, and yet did nothing. He has acknowledged that he has no authority over CNSC, and yet he sends this letter, which we believe is a desperate attempt to shift blame and mask his own incompetence. "It is our hope that the Conservative members on the committee will not try a block attempts to hear from the Minister and Ms. Keen. These individuals must appear as a necessary step in restoring the confidence of Canadians in this all-important health and safety matter," Mr. Alghabra concluded.