Commission public meeting information: BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada’s mid-term
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) will hold a public meeting in May 2026. At this meeting, the CNSC will receive a mid-term update from BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada (BWXT NEC) on licensed activities at its Toronto and Peterborough facilities.
The BWXT NEC Toronto facility is located on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
The BWXT Peterborough facility is situated on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and the traditional territory of the Williams Treaties First Nations.
Commission meeting overview
The mid-term update will cover the first 5 years of the 10-year licensing periods for both facilities. In addition to the update from BWXT NEC, CNSC staff will present an assessment of the licensee’s performance over the current licence periods for both facilities.
Week of May 25, 2026
| Join us in person:
Holiday Inn Peterborough Waterfront |
Join online: |
Interventions and participant funding
Those with an interest or expertise in this matter are invited to submit an intervention for this meeting. All interventions are due by April 17, 2026, and can be made by:
- using the online request form
- emailing the Registry at interventions@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca
- using the contact information in the questions or comments section
Interventions may be made orally, either in-person or remotely. The request to intervene must include:
- a written submission of the comments to be presented to the Commission, including an appendix with all documents mentioned as references in the written submission
- the requester’s name, address, telephone number and email address
Participant funding was available to support interventions at this meeting. The deadline to apply was January 23, 2026.
BWXT and its licensed activities
BWXT NEC operates 2 Class IB nuclear facilities under 2 site-specific licences to manufacture CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) nuclear fuel bundles. These fuel bundles are used at Ontario Power Generation’s Pickering and Darlington nuclear generating stations.
The facility in Toronto manufactures uranium dioxide fuel pellets from uranium powder. The facility in Peterborough manufactures nuclear fuel bundles from the uranium dioxide fuel pellets made in Toronto, and also manufactures zircalloy tubes in-house.
The licences are valid from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2030.
CANDU nuclear fuel bundles
CANDU nuclear fuel bundles are the nuclear fuel that powers CANDU nuclear reactors.
They are long, tube-shaped bundles filled with small pellets of uranium. When these bundles are placed inside a CANDU reactor, they create heat through controlled nuclear reactions. That heat is used to boil water, create steam, spin a turbine and generate electricity.
Figure: A CANDU nuclear fuel bundle
Source: Ontario Power Generation
CNSC regulatory oversight
CNSC staff are satisfied that the BWXT NEC facilities have been operating safely and in accordance with their licence conditions since 2021. No major enforcement actions have been issued to BWXT NEC during this period.
CNSC staff’s compliance verification
The CNSC carries out licensing and compliance verification activities to evaluate BWXT NEC on its safety procedures and adherence to regulatory policy. The results are available online and are summarized in the table below.
CNSC compliance verification activities included inspections, desktop reviews, and technical assessments of reports and documents submitted by BWXT NEC.
The table below shows that 22 CNSC inspections were conducted at BWXT NEC facilities between 2021 and 2025, the first half of the licensing period. Some of these inspections resulted in notices of non-compliance (NNCs), for a total of 35 NNCs. The NNCs are risk-ranked from low to high, and all NNCs during this period were ranked as having a low safety significance.
There were also 43 safeguards inspections conducted independently at BWXT NEC facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The purpose of these inspections was to verify nuclear material inventories and ensure the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities. No non-compliances were issued from these inspections.
| Activity | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNSC inspections | 1* | 4* | 8 | 4 | 5 | 22 |
| Notices of non-compliance | 1 | 8 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 35 |
| International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards inspections | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 43 |
| *Each CNSC inspection in 2021 and 2022 covered both facilities. | ||||||
Reportable events
The CNSC requires its licensees to disclose to the public events and incidents involving its licensed activities that relate to the health, safety and security of Canadians and the environment. CNSC staff are satisfied with BWXT NEC’s corrective actions in response to the reported events, and there were no impacts to workers, the public or the environment.
| Year | Peterborough | Toronto |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 | 1 |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 15 | 3 |
Environmental protection and monitoring
Protecting people and the environment is a top priority for the CNSC. Its regulations ensure that the environmental effects of nuclear projects and facilities are considered at every phase of their lifecycle.
The CNSC uses its own independent environmental monitoring results and information provided by BWXT NEC to create reports assessing the environmental effects of BWXT NEC Toronto and Peterborough and their licensed activities.
In the CNSC’s Environmental Protection Review Report – BWXT NEC Toronto and Peterborough Facilities, the CNSC confirmed that the licensee has made adequate provisions to protect the environment and human health and will continue to maintain these protections.
Learn more about the CNSC’s environmental protection reviews.
CNSC independent environmental monitoring results:
- Independent Environmental Monitoring Program: BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. - Peterborough
- Independent Environmental Monitoring Program: BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. - Toronto
Learn more about BWXT NEC’s:
Public engagement and transparency
The CNSC carries out engagement and outreach activities to facilitate communication on licensed activities and regulatory requirements. Engagement and outreach are critical elements of the CNSC’s regulatory approach.
Since the issuance of BWXT NEC's licences in 2021, CNSC staff have conducted several outreach activities, as directed by the Commission, related to BWXT NEC’s:
- licensed activities
- beryllium soil sampling
- operations
CNSC outreach was done through a combination of virtual and in-person sessions and through written communications. Outreach included participation in Peterborough Board of Health sessions, emails to targeted groups, meetings with the Community Liaison Committee, and the publishing of questions and answers on the CNSC website. The CNSC informed nearby residents and interested parties about staff activities at the facility, including environmental sampling conducted as part of the Independent Environmental Monitoring Program. Information was shared through social media and an email to subscribers. Sampling results were shared through social media, an email to subscribers, and the CNSC website.
The CNSC also inspected BWXT NEC’s public information and disclosure program in 2024 to ensure compliance with requirements and provide additional recommendations towards improvement of the program.
Indigenous consultation and engagement
The CNSC is committed to establishing strong relationships through consistent, meaningful consultation and engagement with Indigenous Nations and communities. This includes ensuring transparency, collaboration and fairness, and balancing the interests of proponents, licensees and potentially impacted Indigenous Nations.
The CNSC engaged with interested Indigenous Nations and communities to gather comments and feedback on the BWXT Environmental Protection Review Report (EPRR). This engagement provided meaningful insight and Indigenous knowledge that helped inform the report. The CNSC has since notified interested or potentially impacted Indigenous Nations and communities about the opportunity to participate in the upcoming mid-term review, and remains open to hearing concerns or potential impacts pertaining to Indigenous rights from the ongoing operations of BWXT NEC.
Learn more about Indigenous consultation and engagement and funding programs.
Commission-related documents
The following documents are related to BWXT NEC’s application and activities and the relevant Commission decisions:
March 2020 – Public hearing documents
- Public hearing - March 2, 2020
- Public hearing - March 3, 2020
- Public hearing - March 4, 2020
- Public Hearing - March 5, 2020
- Public hearing - March 6, 2020
December 18, 2020
December 21, 2020
October 8, 2021
December 8, 2023
- Notice of Hearing in Writing - BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. - Request for acceptance of the revised financial guarantees for its facilities in Toronto and Peterborough
- Notice of Request for Confidentiality - BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. - Financial guarantees for the Toronto and Peterborough installations
January 3, 2024
- Revised Notice of Request for Confidentiality - BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. - Financial guarantees for the Toronto and Peterborough installations - Revision 1
- Revised Notice of Hearing in Writing - BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. - Request for acceptance of the revised financial guarantees for its facilities in Toronto and Peterborough - Revision 1
April 8, 2024
November 28, 2025
Questions or comments
For further information on the public Commission meeting process or to request documents, contact the Commission Registry by:
- email at interventions@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca
- telephone at 343-542-8587
If you have a general inquiry or question about the CNSC’s regulatory oversight of BWXT NEC:
- email cnsc.info.ccsn@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca
- call 613-947-7516 or 1-800-668-5284 (toll-free in Canada and the U.S.)
If you are a member of the media, please contact:
Media Relations
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Tel: 613-996-6860
Email: mediarelations-relationsmedias@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca
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