Sarah Eaton

Director General, Directorate of Advanced Reactor Technologies

Sarah Eaton began working with the CNSC in 2009 as an inspector at the Saskatoon regional office. As a Newfoundlander, she felt it was quite the change to move from oceanside living to life in a landlocked province. The first 8 years of her career were dedicated to inspecting uranium mines and mills. She took on her new role of Director General, Directorate of Advanced Reactor Technologies, in 2023.

Expertise and education

Sarah is a registered professional geologist. She studied at Memorial University of Newfoundland, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in earth sciences.

Sarah has 14 years of licensing and compliance experience, which has been very helpful in her new role of licensing small modular reactors (SMRs).

Roles and responsibilities

Sarah’s team is responsible for new-reactor licensing. Currently, the team is focusing on reviewing licence applications for SMRs. Given the commitments the Government of Canada has made on net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, there is increased interest in SMRs in several provinces. Sarah’s team works closely with Indigenous Nations and communities, the public and interested stakeholders on these projects.

Sarah’s responsibility is to ensure that the proposed SMRs can be constructed and operated safely. She works closely with experts across the organization to ensure every aspect is considered when the CNSC makes its recommendations to the independent Commission.

Other roles

Given the focus on new nuclear power and, specifically, SMRs as a potential option of meeting Canada’s net-zero targets, the Advanced Reactor Licensing Division contributes directly to these targets as a CNSC priority. Through Sarah’s team’s review of SMR licence applications, the division looks for opportunities to find efficiencies in regulatory approaches.