At a meeting of the ITER Parties (European Union, Japan and Russia), January 19-20 in Tokyo, the Parties "took note also of the interest expressed by Canada through the EU in offering to host ITER in Canada." ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, would be the world's first power-producing fusion experimental reactor and has an estimated construction cost of $5 billion. The U.S. was forced by Congress to withdraw from the project in 1998 (FPN98-30), but the ITER Parties are hopeful that the U. S. will rejoin the project at a later date. The Parties are scheduled to decide whether and where to construct ITER in 2001.

The Canadian proposal was officially presented to the ITER Parties through the representatives of the European Union (EU) following receipt of a January 11 letter from Ralph Goodale, Ministre of Natural Resources Canada to Phillip Busquin Commissioner for Research, EU, in which Goodale states, "I am writing to confirm that ITER Canada will soon be forwarding to your Services an expression of interest to host the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project." ITER Canada subsequently provided a 38-page document entitled "ITER Canada Expression of Interest to Host ITER." The document is available at the ITER Canada web site (http://itercanada.com/host/index.cfm/).

The ITER Canada expression of interest document states that "Canada has two excellent sites for the ITER facility. The Bruce site is located 250 kilometres northwest of Toronto on the shores of Lake Huron. The Darlington site is located on Lake Ontario 60 kilometres east of Toronto. The sites are both owned by Ontario Power Generation (a successor company to Ontario Hydro), one of the world's largest electricity generation companies."

The document states, "ITER Canada anticipates that the Government of Canada would be a signatory to an international agreement that would be established by the Parties to govern the project." It says, "We will provide all the necessary support and facilitation to ensure smooth implementation of the project, including application to responsible authorities for regulatory approvals, technical infrastructure and a skilled labour force, as well as pre-negotiated union agreements and contracts for critical ITER inputs including labour, tritium, power and site services." The document says, "In addition to the site and its preparation described above, ITER Canada expects to contribute further up to 25% of anticipated construction costs and an amount to be determined in the range of 10-20 percent of the reference operating costs for ITER. Financial contributions will be provided by a combination of the private sector and the Government of Ontario." The document cautions, "This statement is not to be considered a formal offer of commitment. A formal offer will be submitted in 2001." For further information, view the ITER Canada web site or contact Don Dautovich (dautovich@itercanada.com).