From the government of Canada's web page regarding the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission:
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is an independent federal government agency that regulates the use of nuclear energy and material to protect health, safety, security and the environment and to respect Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Emphasis added.
From a National Post story which reports that the government is on the verge of firing the president of the CSNC:
In a letter obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn accuses the president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission of refusing to heed a Dec. 10 ministerial "directive" from him and Health Minister Tony Clement to allow the restart of the isotope-producing nuclear reactor at Chalk River.
Because being independent means blind obedience to "directives" from Conservative cabinet ministers. Or something like that.
The key line in the story is probably this one:
That put the government in the embarrassing position...
This government can be an embarrassment to all Canadians. But you embarrass them at your peril.
Hat-tip to the Jurist.
Almost immediate update:
Adding that this is typical of Stephen Harper who famously said he wanted courts that would "defer" to parliament rather than act as an independent check on parliament's authority. These aren't your father's small government conservatives. They're authoritarians who demand obedience when they're in charge although they'll scream loudly enough when someone else is and they don't like the decisions being made.
pogge, Keen has come roaring back with a letter to Lunn -- see this CP story in the G&M:
Via ReWind.It at BnR.
I'm on it. Thanks. The text of Keen's letter is available at the first link in my post and I have Movable Type open now.
"That put the government in the embarrassing position..."
Huh. Head up own ass. Who put it there?
Damn. I'm having a fight with Adobe, and can't access the pdf links. Does Lunn's suicide note appear in plain text anywhere?
The pdf contains Keen's reply and a document that appears to review the whole history of the so-called crisis (which, now that I've skimmed through more of it, may bear a closer reading). But it doesn't contain Lunn's letter. I don't know of any source for the text of his original letter online.
Okay, I lied. There's a pdf of Lunn's letter to Keen here.