Sophie Demers
Local Journalism Initiative
Published in the Pontiac Journal on January 14, 2026.
CHALK RIVER – Effective mid-December last year, Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. (NLPC) officially took over the contract to manage Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). CNL is contracted by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, a Crown corporation focused on nuclear science and technology, to manage nuclear sites and facilities across the country. This includes the Chalk River nuclear laboratory, responsible for the
controversial Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF). This model is called GoCo, meaning government-owned, contractor-operated.
“While the new parent company, NLPC, may bring new ideas and practices to the way we operate, the GoCo model is designed to ensure stability in CNL’s operations. CNL’s current missions will proceed without change in the near future, and the long-term vision defined by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, on behalf of the Government of Canada, will continue to guide the work we do on behalf of our commercial and government customers,” said a CNL spokesperson. There will be some changes at the executive level, but most work teams won’t change.
NLPC is a partnership between three corporations – BWXT Government Group Inc., Amentum Environment & Energy Inc., and Kinectrics Inc.
BWXT is an American-based corporation supplying nuclear, defense, and space products internationally. In 2024, the company’s revenue totalled $2.7 billion.
Amentum Environment & Energy Inc. is also an American corporation that works in various industries such as defense, security, space, and renewable energy (nuclear).
Kinectrics Inc. was founded in Canada and has offices in both Ontario and the United States. The corporation was acquired by BWXT Government Group in May 2025. The Competition Bureau is investigating the acquisition of Kinectrics; the investigation is ongoing, but according to CNL, the Bureau doesn’t intend to challenge the transition at this time.
Concerns expressed
Dr. Ole Hendrickson, a nuclear watch dog with decades of knowledge of the industry, has a different perspective on the announcements. “For-profit American companies have no incentive to reduce Canada’s nuclear waste liability safely and cost-effectively. Unless the
federal government reasserts its responsibility for managing its legacy nuclear waste, large sums of public money will be squandered, and the Ottawa River will be polluted, essentially forever,” he said.
Hendrickson explained that in 2018, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission provided CNL with a 10-year licence allowing the company to carry out various activities at the Chalk River site; he call this “a pass” for the company to do as they please since activities can take place without further licensing and therefore, no public notice or input.
Dr. Hendrickson says these activities include taking down contaminated buildings, adding radioactive waste from across the country, or extracting materials like plutonium and tritium.
CNL reaffirmed its support for the NSDF project, which has been the subject of ongoing court proceedings between the nuclear laboratory and the Kebaowek First Nation.
