Government to spend $3 billion on contaminated sites

The Canadian Government has just launched Phase II of the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan. Under the program, the government plans to spend $1 billion over three years. The money is to be spent primarily on remediating 1,100 contaminated sites and assessing another 1,650 sites. The work is expected to create the equivalent of about 1,500 full-time jobs per year.

The program was created in 2004-05 and will continue until 2020.

Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent said on October 4: “Our past has made us what we are today but some of those past practices have had harmful effects on the environment. Our government is committed to addressing those effects and ensuring our environment is protected for future generations.”