Stockwell Day Flogging Reactors To India

From yesterday's column:

Canada's nuclear industry, respected as among the best in the world, also has billion dollar opportunities right now. This includes long term high tech jobs. India's huge economic growth has expanded their energy demands. Their government wants to build over 30 clean nuclear energy plants to reduce greenhouse gases. Some of my meetings therefore involved working on a Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with India. Meetings with India's Prime Minister Singh, his key Ministers and advisers and others helped to clarify a larger role which could be played by Canadian companies in this and other areas.

Huh? So what's the back story?

Back in the 1970s, India used Canadian technology to build their "Smiling Budda" nuclear device, and they've been working outside the strictures of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ever since. However, the nation has become something of an economic power-house over the past decade and, since they're committed to Nukes as an energy source anyhow, the international community has decided to let by-gones be by-gones and start selling them technology for their civilian program. For Canada, that means another market for our Candu Reactors. The uranium will apparently come from Kazakhstan, France, and maybe Canada as well.

Of course, when India uses Canadian parts and tech for its civilian program, they free up local scientists to build bigger and better bombs, which may well trigger a nuclear arms race in the region.

On the up-side, the deal is potentially worth $1,000,000,000s.