OTTAWA - A survey commissioned by the federal government suggests most Canadians don't know much about Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., but they still don't want the Crown corporation privatized.
An Ipsos Reid poll done last spring for the Natural Resources Department found nearly seven in 10 Canadians knew little or nothing about AECL, which used to make the medical isotopes used to diagnose cancer and heart ailments.
But the survey also found nearly three quarters of those polled thought AECL should not become a private company.
The Crown corporation hasn't produced any isotopes since its aging reactor at Chalk River, Ont., was shut down in May after it was found to be leaking radioactive water.
AECL's best guess is the reactor -- which produced a third of the world's supply of the isotopes -- won't be back up until the first quarter of next year.
Earlier this year, Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt announced that AECL's reactor business should be spun off from its research division.
The corporation's Chalk River research facility will stay government-owned, but with private-sector management.
Investment bank N.M. Rothschild & Sons has been hired to draft a restructuring plan for the company's Candu reactor business.
The survey included just over 2,000 people between March 2 to 13 and is considered accurate to within 2.2 percentage points.
