According to Herb Dhaliwal, Canadian minister of natural resources, the Canadian government is committed to seeing nuclear power play an important role in the country's energy programs.
Speaking at a convention of the Canadian Nuclear Association on 18 March 2003, Mr. Dhaliwal cited several recent projects by the Canadian nuclear industry, most notably the completion of the first of two reactors at the Qinshan power plant, planned construction of a second Candu reactor in Cernavoda, Romania, efforts to host the ITER project (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a joint research project on fusion energy) in Canada, and prospects for an advanced Candu by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL).
Referring to a possible energy shortfall in Ontario, he stated that "nuclear power, an energy source that does not produce greenhouse gases, will one day have a major role to play in meeting the need for new, clean forms of energy."