OTTAWA (CP) - Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., a federal Crown corporation, should not be spending tax dollars on a campaign aimed at convincing Canadians of the benefits of nuclear power, the Sierra Club said Monday. A spokesman for Atomic Energy dismissed the criticism, saying no federal tax money has been spent on the public relations campaign by the Canadian Nuclear Association.

"The grants and contributions from federal coffers just keep on coming to keep alive an industry that Canadians clearly don't want," Elizabeth May, Sierra Club's executive director, told a news conference.

The nuclear association, of which AECL and three public utilities are members, recently released a survey suggesting 50 per cent of Canadians support nuclear power while 40 per cent oppose it.

The 65-member group plans a campaign to inform Canadians how nuclear power benefits medicine, the economy and the environment, said association president Bill Clarke.

"The nuclear industry wants to dupe Canadians into believing that nuclear power is clean, or emissions-free," said Dave Martin of the Sierra Club.

"That's simply not true.

"Nuclear power is dirty and it's dangerous, and no amount of advertising by the industry is going to change that."

Martin said a Crown corporation should not be contributing public money to a private industry lobby group for an advertising campaign.

Atomic Energy spokesman Larry Shewchuk acknowledged the company contributes to the nuclear association, but said that doesn't involve taxpayers' money.

"We can put money toward the CNA for an advertising campaign but we can take that money from our private-sector revenues," he said.

The company earns more than $5 from the private sector for every $1 it receives in public funds, Shewchuk said. Commercial revenues peaked last year at $550 million compared with $100 million from Ottawa.

All public money goes to research and development of isotopes for medical use at the firm's Chalk River, Ont., facility, he said.

The firm's CANDU reactor program also doesn't get one penny of public funds, he added.

Clarke said some environmentalists have painted themselves into a corner.

"On the one hand, they are strongly opposed to measures that add to climate change issues," he said.

"On the other hand, they are vehemently opposed to the production of electricity from hydro or nuclear or fossil fuel production. They can't have it both ways, otherwise we're going have to turn out the lights."

Clarke also said what AECL is doing is no different than practices at other federal departments and Crown agencies like Canada Post and the Export Development Corp.

"They have advertising programs aimed at informing the public about their services and their products," he said.

But Martin questioned why participating in the advertising campaign is necessary, given that AECL has not sold a reactor in Canada since 1974 and nuclear power has a corner on the market in Ontario.

He speculated the private industry has the most to gain from such a campaign.

"It's not clear to me that a government agency should be bankrolling their private commercial interests."

© The Canadian Press, 2001
Copyright © 2001 CanWest Interactive.