Chalk River Professional Employees Group (CRPEG)

CRPEG scholarship committee has finished its difficult task of selecting two well deserving winners out of the many bright candidates who applied for the CRPEG scholarship this year.

We’d like to congratulate 2025 CRPEG Scholarship winners Dayna Xiao and Sitara Mistry. We wish them all the best this year and throughout their school experience. 

Dayna Xiao Bachelor’s in Health Sciences (Honours) Queen’s University

Sitara Mistry Life Sciences Gateway Program McMaster University

We hope that this scholarship will help them achieve their academic and career goals.

We’d also like to thank this year’s scholarship committee:

• Roopinder Aulakh
• Bethany Johnsen
• Jihang Yu

Hello CRPEG members,

We are pleased to announce that the CRPEG annual scholarship application is now open. We are offering two scholarships, each valued at $2000, to eligible candidates who meet the following criteria:

1. Applicants for this award must either be: a) A child or grandchild of any current or past member of CRPEG, or b) A graduate of any secondary school within an 85 km radius of Chalk River Laboratories.

2. Applicants must be entering their first year of post-secondary education in a full-time post-secondary program at a Canadian educational institution (including CÉGEPs).

The selection of successful applicants will be carried out by a dedicated committee. CRPEG will notify the chosen recipients by mid-September. To access the application criteria and form, please click on the link below.

CRPEG Scholarship – Chalk River Professional Employees Group (CRPEG)

Ensure that all applications are submitted by 30^th of July 2025. All the normal paperwork says to return by a date of the 20^th, but we are extending the date to the 30^th this year due to the strike.

If you are interested in being part of the selection committee (provided that your child or grandchild is not an applicant), please inform CRPEG Executives. We require a minimum of three scholarship committee members, and volunteers will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis.

Lastly, we would like to extend our congratulations to all high school graduates and wish them the very best in their future endeavours.

Best regards,

CRPEG Executive
Working Together For The Public Good

Dear CRPEG Members,

Your ratification vote has concluded, and you have voted to accept the tentative agreement.

Thank you to every member who participated in this democratic process. Your voice has been heard, and your decision will bring this historic labour dispute to a successful conclusion.

What this means

• the tentative agreement is now ratified and will be implemented
• strike action ends immediately
• you will return to work with gains achieved through your solidarity and determination
• vacation leave remains fully reinstated with no discipline for members affected by CNL’s cancellation

The gains you secured

Through your strength and unity, you achieved:

• $2 million increase to company-wide benefits program (benefiting all CNL employees)
• $1,700 lump sum payment to every CRPEG member
• 10.5% salary increases over 3 years with improved distribution:
  • 4.0% in 2024, 
  • 4.0% in 2025, and
  • 2.5% in 2026
• reduced salary progression steps and increased minimum salary scale
• maintained professional office space entitlements

Your historic achievement

You made history as the first PIPSC group to go on strike in over 30 years. Your courage, solidarity, and professionalism throughout this dispute – despite facing surveillance, intimidation, and retaliation from CNL – demonstrates the power of workers standing together.

The 5 days of selective strike action proved the critical importance of your work and forced CNL to improve their offer. You showed that when professional workers unite, all workers can advance.

Solidarity matters

To every member who picketed at 5:00 AM, who stood strong despite pressure, who supported each other through difficult times – this victory belongs to all of you. You’ve shown that solidarity works, that professional workers deserve respect, and that standing together makes us stronger.

The fight for accountability continues

Our unfair labour practice complaint regarding CNL’s vacation cancellation continues through the Canada Industrial Relations Board. We will hold CNL accountable for their violations. 

PIPSC President Sean O’Reilly and I will also be meeting with the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, to address key issues that matter to CRPEG members. This meeting is a direct outcome of our recent strike action and the PIPSC petition.

Your bargaining and engagement teams are proud to have represented you throughout this historic dispute, and we will continue to safeguard your rights to a safe and fair workplace. 

In solidarity,

The CRPEG Bargaining and Engagement Teams, PIPSC

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) has filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board against Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), alleging the employer violated the Canada Labour Code by cancelling all scheduled and pre-approved vacation leave for striking Chalk River Professional Employee Group (CRPEG) members.
The complaint, filed June 23, 2025, alleges CNL contravened sections 94(1)(a) and 94(3)(a) of the Canada Labour Code by taking retaliatory action against employees for exercising their legal right to strike. CNL issued a blanket cancellation of all vacation leave for CRPEG members effective June 23, forcing employees to cancel imminent travel plans or return from vacations already in progress.
“This is a clear case of employer retaliation designed to punish our members for voting to reject an inadequate contract offer,” said PIPSC President Sean O’Reilly. “CNL’s actions are not about operational needs—they’re about intimidation and undermining workers’ fundamental right to strike.”
The complaint details how CNL’s vacation cancellation order was issued immediately after CRPEG members rejected the employer’s final settlement offer on June 19 and served strike notice. Many employees had already made significant personal and financial commitments based on their approved vacation time, with some already traveling or out of the country.
Notably, CNL did not take similar action during CRPEG’s initial strike activities in late May, nor has it implemented the measure against other bargaining units or management at the facility.
“The timing and scope of this action exposes its true purpose,” said CRPEG President Jonathan Fitzpatrick. “CNL is trying to make an example of our members to intimidate other workers who might consider standing up for fair treatment.”
CNL justified the vacation cancellations by citing operational needs and new federal replacement worker legislation. However, PIPSC argues this rationale is undermined by the existence of a Maintenance of Services Agreement signed by both parties that specifically outlines staffing requirements during a work stoppage.
The agreement already ensures essential operations continue during strike action through designated essential workers and established protocols. CNL has refused to provide specific justification for why additional workers beyond those identified in the agreement are suddenly required.
The complaint alleges CNL violated the Canada Labour Code by:
Interfering with union representation of employees
Discriminating against workers with respect to terms and conditions of employment because they participated in an authorized strike
Taking retaliatory action intended to intimidate employees from exercising their legal rights
PIPSC is seeking several remedies from the Canada Industrial Relations Board, including orders requiring CNL to immediately cease the unlawful practice, rescind the vacation cancellation directive, provide damages to affected employees, and post a public acknowledgment of its Code violations.
CRPEG’s 800+ nuclear scientists and engineers resumed strike action on June 23 after rejecting CNL’s settlement offer. The workers, who ensure safe operation of nuclear reactors and support critical radioactive waste management across Canada, have been without a contract since December 31, 2023, following 17 months of negotiations.
“Our members deserve fair compensation for the vital work they do protecting Canadians,” O’Reilly said. “They shouldn’t be punished by their employer for standing up for that principle.”
The unfair labour practice complaint adds another dimension to the ongoing labour dispute at Canada’s premier nuclear research facility, highlighting the lengths to which CNL will go to pressure workers into accepting inadequate terms.

National post covers the issue of US Contractors Managing Canadian Nuclear laboratories. Please see the link below:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/critics-are-sounding-the-alarm-on-u-s-management-of-canada-s-nuclear-labs-here-s-why/ar-AA1HsmVD#comments

“Even though AECL’s bidding process began in 2023 — long before U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to a second term and started threatening Canada’s sovereignty — sources familiar with the matter are questioning why AECL chose to work with firms mainly based in the U.S. to manage Canada’s sensitive technologies in the nuclear sector.

“Given the current circumstances in Canada-U.S. relations, I think it’s troubling that a contract of this magnitude would be awarded to a U.S.-based consortium,” said one of the sources who spoke to the National Post on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

“Now, Chalk River labs are going to be managed by American firms that are deeply involved in the American military and defence industrial complex on the nuclear side,” they added.

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, who served as assistant deputy minister for Energy Technology and Programs at Natural Resources Canada, was just as surprised to hear about the contract: “Why on Earth do we not have the skill set to do this in Canada?”

“If this government is really serious about protecting our vulnerabilities and building capacity in Canada and strengthening Canadian companies… why would they farm out the management of our precious technology, especially something as unique as nuclear?” added McCuaig-Johnston, now a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa.

Despite its name, Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. is composed mostly of U.S.-based partners. It will be spearheaded by Virginia-based BWXT — an important supplier to the U.S. Defence Department. The other partners are Amentum — also based in Virginia — and Kinectrics Inc. — a company based in Toronto but bought by BWXT earlier this year .”