441-01132 (Environment)

The Government of Canada strongly endorses the polluter-pays principle to ensure that companies are accountable.

The provinces are primarily responsible for the regulation of oil and gas wells throughout their life cycle. Several provinces have put in place liability regimes in an attempt to address this issue. Cleaning up inactive wells is important to prevent methane leaks and protect the habitat of species at risk.

In response to the difficult economic circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, in April 2020, the Government of Canada announced $1.72 billion to help provincial governments clean up inactive and orphan oil and gas wells in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.

As part of this initiative, the recipient provinces agreed to ensure that they have in place sustainably-funded systems whereby oil and gas companies bear the costs of their environmental responsibilities. All three provinces committed to, and have since implemented, strengthened regulations to reduce the prospect of new orphan wells.