A former prime minister toured the Bruce Power site to mark the conclusion of the first International Atomic Energy Agency safety review of a Canadian nuclear station.
Jean Chretien was on hand Wednesday as the IAEA wrapped up its operational safety review team mission at the site's Bruce-B station and says he wanted to help support Bruce Power because he has always been a supporter of nuclear energy.
Chretien says some people are afraid of nuclear power because they don't understand it, pointing out he wanted to see the stringent safety standards first hand, so he requested a tour of one of the site's spent fuel pools.
"Some people are afraid of (nuclear power) so that's why I wanted to be as close as possible to the danger and in fact, I could see the spent fuel there in the water and it was not dangerous, I'm still alive and kicking," says Chretien.
He says Ontario should be seen as an example for clean energy generation, pointing out the restart of Bruce Power's reactors and the elimination of coal-fired generation has made the province one of the best jurisdictions for clean electricity generation.
The results of the operational safety review team mission will be made public in the next few months.
