Premier Brad Wall says a new partnership agreement between Canada and India will be a major boost for the province’s uranium industry.
Wall joined Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver in Saskatoon on Monday morning to announce the signing of the Canada-India nuclear cooperation agreement.
Wall says along with a recent nuclear agreement signed between Canada and China, today’s announcement will mean increased production and jobs in northern Saskatchewan’s mining industry.
“It will mean literally billions of dollars worth of sales of Saskatchewan uranium into these two markets,” he says. “It will mean new jobs and that’s important for a number of reasons. But an important one I referenced earlier, in the case of Cameco, they have one of the best records of employing Aboriginal people in our province.”
Oliver also assures that any nuclear materials, equipment and technology exported out of Canada and to India will only be used for peaceful purposes.
“This is a critical part of the process and what it means is that these appropriate arrangements really deal with the issue that the agreement is in conformity with our non-proliferation obligations internationally,” he says.
India is the fourth largest consumer of energy in the world and this demand is expected to triple in the next 25 years.
The announcement was made at the Cameco offices in Saskatoon.