Ottawa Is Investing $1.7 Billion To Clean Up Orphan Wells & Save 5,200 Jobs In Alberta

In an address to the public, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he will be saving jobs in Alberta. On the Friday morning address, Trudeau announced that $1.7 billion would be invested into helping clean up Alberta orphan wells and save over 5,000 jobs in the province. The money will also support cleanup projects in several other provinces including Saskatchewan, B.C., and Newfoundland and Labrador. 

During the April 17, address to the public, Trudeau stated that he is here to support fellow Canadians during this difficult pandemic. 

“COVID-19 has brought many industries to a halt and workers across the country are struggling as a result. At the start, our goal as a government has been clear: to help Canadians get through the challenging times,” he said at the beginning of his speech. 

“We are here to support you.”

In order to help Alberta, $1.7 billion is going to be allotted to help clean up inactive or orphaned wells across the province. 

According to Trudeau, these wells can be “detrimental” to our environment and people's health. Cleaning them will mean that people can be brought back to work. 

"Think of the farmer who can’t grow anything on his land because of an abandoned well a few steps away from her home," Trudeau says.

“Our goal is to create immediate jobs in these provinces while helping companies avoid bankruptcy and supporting environment targets," said the leader. 

In Alberta alone, this investment will help secure 5,200 jobs. 

But this isn't the only environmental goal that was introduced during Trudeau's speech. 

Funding of $750 million will be invested into an emissions reduction fund with a focus on methane “to create and maintain jobs through pollution reduction efforts.”

This would include $75 million to help offshore industries cut emissions in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

“Through the wells and methane initiative, we estimate that we can maintain roughly 10,000 jobs across the country. Just because we are in a health crisis doesn’t mean we can neglect the environment crisis,” said the Prime Minister.

Trudeau stated that the overarching goal of cleaning up these wells in Alberta, as well as other provinces, is to “create jobs for workers in the energy sector, avoid companies going bankrupt, and support our environmental targets.”

He hopes this will allow companies that are struggling to keep their employees on payroll and hopefully return to normalcy sooner in the future.