Members of the public have long been concerned over the independence, transparency, and accountability of the CNSC. In 2008, the Commission’s President Linda Keen was fired for refusing to permit a licensed nuclear facility to operate, on the grounds that it could failed to comply with the safety conditions specified in its licence. Since then, the CNSC and its new president Michael Binder, have systematically discredited critics of the Commission and nuclear industry, silenced the Commission’s own scientific staff, and actively sought to stifle public debate concerning potential health and environmental hazards of nuclear facilities and radioactive substances.