There will be an emergency three o'clock meeting of the Natural Resources committee tomorrow, after one was requested by four opposition members.

Liberal critic, Omar Alghabra says he wants the committee to request appearances by Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn and the head of the independent nuclear safety regulator Linda Keen as early as Thursday. The NDP MP on the committee, Catherine Bell, also noted she wants to hear from the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) and the Auditor-General.

The meeting is being held to look into the nuclear safety issues at the Chalk River nuclear reactor. Last week, Linda Keen, the President of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), sent a terse response to Minister Lunn. In December, Minister Lunn had asked Keen, in a letter leaked to the media, why she shouldn't be fired for recommending the closure of an AECL reactor. The CNSC and the Auditor General both concluded the reactor wasn't meeting safety requirements but the shutdown threatened the supply of critical medical isotopes.

Ms. Keen posted her response to the Minister as well as the Minister's letter on the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's website.