Who pays for dealing with contaminated sites in Canada?
In Canada, the federal government promotes “the polluter pays” principle. Private companies are usually responsible for the costs of cleaning up (or “remediating”) the land they contaminate. The provinces, territories and federal government are generally responsible for the cost of dealing with the sites they own or lease. Some contaminated sites, called orphan sites, become the responsibility of governments when those who caused the contamination go out of business or are unable to pay for dealing with these sites. For example, in the North, where mining companies have failed, the Government of Canada has often had to assume responsibility for the cost of dealing with these sites.
