Saskatchewan plans to pursue its nuclear agenda even as the crisis in Japan raises questions about the industry's safety.
Innovation Minister Rob Norris, who is also responsible for SaskPower, said Monday that the province will move ahead with nuclear medicine, material science and research on small-reactor technology. The situation in Japan is serious but more research can help in the future, he added.
"We need to make sure that we're contributing to this dialogue, to the discussion and actually to the science about making the technology safer," Mr. Norris said.
Saskatchewan is the world's largest producer of uranium, the key component in nuclear power generation, but so far it hasn't gone beyond mining the raw material.
"With 20 per cent of the world's uranium produced here in Saskatchewan, moving forward isn't an option," Mr. Norris said.
"It's actually an obligation, an ethical obligation that we have. Now's the time for more science and we think we're very well positioned to help contribute certainly into the future."
Premier Brad Wall has repeatedly said the government is interested in uranium value-added opportunities.
The Saskatchewan government rejected the idea of allowing a large-scale nuclear plant to be built in December, 2009. However, Mr. Wall said in January that Saskatchewan is looking at a partnership with a private company to research whether a small reactor could fit into the province's existing power grid.
Earlier this month, Mr. Wall announced that the province will build a new research centre for nuclear science and medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
Mr. Norris noted there are two research reactors at the university. He said the research infrastructure is among the most highly regulated in the world and suggested people should not be afraid of moving forward.
"We've said first and foremost, any step is going to be focused on safety," Mr. Norris said.
"We're certainly very aware of the safety issues that are now coming up within Japan. It certainly doesn't detract from the track that we're on, in fact I think it reinforces it."